True to the classic cinematic plot of the underdog rising out of misty obscurity, faced with DeVillean obstacles, hyperbolic experiences like the aforementioned, and moments of climax accompanied by the appropriate soundtrack, the Cinemalaya Independent Film Festival has proven itself a formidable character –protagonist, complex, round– in the country’s cinema scene.

In this case, it’s art imitating itself.

Cinemalaya honchos, Nestor Jardin and Laurice Guillen recalled at Thursday’s press conference at the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) that at the beginning, organizers had some difficulty convincing the press to cover the event and even greater difficulty to attract people to watch the films. Starting with an audience of about eight thousand when it began in 2005, last year’s festival drew 29 thousand people with tickets sold out and additional screenings fully-booked.

Celebrating its fifth year, the Cinemalaya independent film festival and competition seeks to discover and encourage the cinematic works of local filmmakers that articulate and interpret the Filipino experience through films in digital video format.  20 new digital films by neophyte directors will compete during the festival which runs from July 17 to 26 at the CCP. In addition, some 25 new independent films will be premiered during the nine-day long festival. What was once just a term for artistic beatniks with a vision but no money, “indie” has, ironically, become mainstream.

Nestor Jardin

Laurice Guillen

Ten films will compete for the top prize in the full length feature category running from 90 to 120 minutes.  These are the treasure hunt film 24K by newcomer Ana Agabin, the mystery drama Ang Panggagahasa kay Fe by Ateneo alumnus and Cinemalaya veteran Alvin B. Yapan; the gritty street film Astig by GB Sampedro; dark crime themed Colorum by Jon Steffan Ballesteros; an unconventional love story in Dinig Sana Kita by Mike E. Sandejas; rough gang film based on true events in Engkwentro by UP undergrad Pepe Diokno; comedy/satire film Last Supper No. 3 by Veronica Velasco and Jinky Laurel; mystery/thriller Mangatyanan by Jerrold Tarog, family film Nerseri by Vic Acedillo, Jr. and slices of life in Sanglaan by Milo Sogueco.

Competing in the short feature category running under 20 minutes are Behind Closed Doors by Mark Philipp Espina, BLOGOG by Rommel “Milo” Tolentino, Bonsai by Alfonso “Borgy” K. Torre III, Hulagpos by Maita Lirra Lupac, Latus by John Paul S. Seniel, Musa by Dexter B. Cayanes, Si Bok at ang Trumpo by Hubert Tibi, Tatang by Jean Paolo “Nico” Hernandez, Ugat sa Lupa by Ariel Reyes and Wat Floor Ma’am by Mike Sandejas and Robert Seña.

Me Like

Viewing their trailers and listening to the directors talk about their films, two from the full length category caught my interest and now I can’t wait to sit in that theater and watch it. Dinig Sana Kita, according to director Mike Sandejas, is not your usual love story. Sparks fly between a real-life deaf dancer played by Romalito Mallari and a rocker chick played by Zoe Sandejas, the director’s daughter. Their paths cross in a camp for both deaf and hearing kids, and like all stories that begin with two people separated by their differences, the two discover that they have more in common with each other, aside for their love for music. One can perhaps guess where all this will lead to: someone recovers their hearing.

Though I can’t help but compare it to Step Up and it’s creatively titled sequel, Step Up 2, and other dance-slash-love stories that left us wondering why Julia Stiles sounds like a man in tights (Save the Last Dance), or others the propagated the notion that all that young African-American students do is dance (Stomp the Yard, etc.), Dinig Sana Kita, begs to be different.

I’ll say it now. I’m biased for Sanglaan. At the press conference, I found myself sitting next to one of the film’s producers, Miss Gay Ace Domingo. Naturally, I was curious about her film, and proper decorum dictates I ask her about it since I asked her where she was from, thinking she was from the press. When she began with, “The film stars Ina Feleo and…,” I was hooked. And when the real Ina Feleo walked by, I fell off my seat. And the film sounds great too.

Sanglaan looks at the seemingly simple relationships created in the mundane setting of a pawnshop in Tondo, Manila. I’ve never been to a pawnshop, although one need not be a genius to know what they do. Each possession left by those who do their business in pawnshops tells its own compelling story, the ring that perhaps was a gift from a husband, a bracelet stolen, an heirloom piece. These slices of life all come together in Olivia’s Pawnshop. Together with Ina Feleo are Tessie Tomas and Joem Bascon.

In the short feature category, I’m looking forward to Wat Floor Ma’am. Set in a jammed elevator with basically two characters, it’s one of those films that’s predictably talky but entertaining as well. Tatang, features Peng Medina. `Nuff said.

Visit the Cinemalaya website to read more about this year’s finalists, view their trailers and read their synopses. I’d reserve my tickets this early. http://www.cinemalaya.org

More Photos From the Presscon

"Last Supper No. 3" Cast, Directors

"24K" Director, Cast

"Mangatyanan" Cast, Director

"Astig" Cast, Director

"Ang Nerseri" Cast, Director

"Colorum" Director, Cast

"Engkwentro" Cast, Director

Alfred Vargas, mobbed