Cinemalaya Cinco: Movies Travellers Should See

Cinemalaya Promo Poster

Every year, the Cultural Center of the Philippines sponsors a film festival that reveals the works of novice film makers. For travellers, it’s a week-long activity with Filipino directors willing to go out of their way to veer off from conventional Filipino movie genres such as Melodrama, Low-budget fantasy, and Slapstick Funny.

These films are not tied to the major productions houses so there is more creative freedom and the works can be defined as pseudo-indie. Judging from the trailers, there’s a good selection that ranges from feel-good, “Kung Dinig Sana Kita” to artsy, “Mangatyanan”. From comedy. “Last Supper No. 3” to horror, “Ang Panggahasa ni Fe”. Yes, most films will be in Filipino but majority have English subtitles. I’m definitely going to try and squeeze in some of these films because it’s rare to catch a real glimpse of what can be best described as Filipino cinema reborn. These are films that go beyond mainstream thinking thus it is a a truer, more personalized representation of film making in the country.

Cinemalaya opens on July 17 and runs until July 26, 2009. Films will be shown at all CCP venues, namely the Main Theater, the Little Theater, Dream Theater, Tanghalang Huseng Batute, Silangan Hall and the MKP Hall. For ticket information, please call the CCP Marketing Department at 551-7930 or 832-1125 local 1800 to 1808 and the CCP Box Office at 832-3704 or 832-1125 local 1409.

For Film Synopsis and Schedules:
http://blog.diwadeleon.com/cinemalaya-2009-festival-schedule/