Cinemalaya Through the Years

Friday, February 13, 2015

Credits to owner

If you've been reading my blog long enough (naks! uma-avid reader!), then you know that I'm a big fan of Indie films since my best friend and I accidentally "discovered" Cinemalaya Independent Film Festival. We were waiting for the results of his Nursing Board Exams (he passed!). The 10th Cinemalaya last year was my 5th straight Cinemalaya experience and it has become our tradition to always watch it in CCP even though they're already showing the entries at Ayala Cinemas. 

Here are some photos of my Cinemalaya experience through the years. Throwback na rin for you to see how much I've evolved (see hairstyles) and grown (in every sense of the word).


My first Cinemalaya in 2009



Cinemalaya 2010


These are from Cinemalaya 2012 (Wasn't able to take photos from 2011):



Excuse the bungisngis, I was actually starstrucked with my favorite scriptwriter, Ricky Lee :)


Pa-artsy shot



With Director Joey Reyes in 2013


And these are from 2014:



With Ms. Irma Adlawan (aka Nay Mirasol of Forevermore. Hihi)



Caught some of Marc Abaya's swag


The obligatory by-the-Cinemalaya signage shot


Last year, the idea of volunteering for the festival played in my head. I decided against it because I'll lose the freedom to watch a film from start to finish. I don't actually know if volunteers get to preview the film entries before they are all played come festival time but I still don't want to ruin the whole festival experience as a spectator since I always watch it with a friend/s. Because really, each film is a different experience! I am always looking forward to July and will research as early as April for any news about the entries for that year.

This year's festival is scheduled on August 7-14, 2015. But imagine my disappointment when I read the Cinemalaya foundation announcement that they will only feature Short Films (aka just "Shorts") this year and that full-length films will be back in 2016. 

Shorts BTW is like a whole film (1-2hours) but with mini-films that run for 20-25 minutes within the whole video. So Shorts are usually divided in 2 sets (Shorts A and Shorts B) with 4-5 short films each but still judged individually. 

I feel so sad about it but I'm just happy the festival will remain in its home in CCP.  The news factored in a bit about my plan to volunteer since they won't be showing any full length films anyway. :(

Oh and they are still accepting submissions for Short films until March 6, 2015. Details here.

If they are only doing shorts this year, maybe they will not show it by batches anymore. I'm just wondering about the ticket prices though (Php 60 for students and Php 150 for non-students), will it be the same price if a movie will just be 20 minutes long? Hehe. 


Well, I just hope that next year's Cinemalaya will be worth the wait. I'm still thinking about the volunteering thing but if you guys are interested, have time and as in love with films as I am and is willing to work for the sake of arts (let me reiterate this: for free!) then check out Cultural Center of the Philippines' site here. Volunteer or not, I hope to see you this August! :)


You Might Also Like

0 comments