Cinemalaya 2024 Cinemalaya 2024

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What to expect at the 2024 Cinemalaya Film Festival

Now on its 20th edition

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Every cinephile’s much-awaited annual independent film festival is back, now on its 20th year. Yup, that’s two decades! This year’s edition of the Cinemalaya Film Festival brings the theme “Loob, Lalim, Lakas” to life — with a promise to deliver top-tier visual storytelling that will deeply capture the Filipino cinematic soul.

Planning to go? Here are some things to expect:

A fresh set of competing films

The 20 th Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival kicks off on August 2 with the opening film, “The Gospel of the Beast” by Sheron Dayoc, which was recognized in two different international film festivals. After which, all full-length and short feature films competing for the coveted Balanghai trophy will be screened in different schedules.

Here are the 10 films competing for Full-Length Category:

  • “Aliputo” at Muog by JL Burgos
  • “An Errand” by Dominic Bekaert
  • “Balota” by Kip Oebanda
  • “Gulay Lang, Manong” by BC Amparado
  • “Kantil” by Joshua Caesar Medroso
  • “Kono Basho” by Jaime Pecana II
  • “Love Child” by Jonathan Jurilla
  • “The Hearing” by Lawrence Fajardo
  • “The Wedding Dance” by Julius Lumiqued
  • “Tumandok” by Richard Salvadico and Arlie Sumagaysay

On the other hand, below are the 10 competing Short Feature films:

  • “Abogbaybay” by PR Monencillo Patindol
  • “All this wasted space” by Cris Bringas
  • “Ambot Wala Ako Kabalo Unsay I-Title Ini” by Rey Anthony Villaverde
  • “Cross My Heart and Hope to Die” by Sam Manasca
  • “I Was Walking on the Streets of Chinatown” by Ryan Capili
  • “Mama” by Alexandra Brizuela
  • “Mariposa” by Melanie Faye Tampos
  • “Pamalandog sa Danow (Reflection in the Marsh)” by Breech Asher Harani
  • “Primetime Mother” by Sonny Calvento
  • “The Red Trails (An Baga sa Dalan)” by Mariel Ritchie Jolejole and Roniño Dolim

View the full screening schedule here.

Ayala Malls, The Metropolitan Theater screenings

While it’s sad that Cinemalaya won’t be held in its usual home, the Cultural Center of the Philippines (which is under construction, btw), the film festival will be screened in different Ayala Malls Cinemas. Film-watchers can conveniently choose the nearest one to them. The main venue for the festival is Ayala Malls Manila Bay.

Below is the list of participating Ayala Malls Cinemas:

  • Greenbelt
  • Trinoma
  • UP Town Center
  • Market! Market!

Tickets can be purchased on-site or via sureseats.com.

Meanwhile, viewers can catch some non-competing films at the prestigious The
Metropolitan Theater for free. See the list of films here.

Distinguished set of judges

Leading this year’s jury is Golden Globe and BAFTA Awardee and Cinemalaya 2023 Best Supporting Actress Ms. Dolly de Leon. She will be joined by multi-awarded director, editor, composer, and writer Jerrold Tarog, renowned critic and academic Nicanor Tiongson, Berlinale film curator Nicola Marzano, and Dhaka International Film Festival founder and director, Ahmed Muztaba Zamal.

They are tasked to evaluate the competing films and choose which ones are deserving of the coveted Balanghai trophies.

Meanwhile, the jury for NETPAC (Network for the Promotion of Asian Cinema) Award will compose of award-winning local filmmaker and producer Monster Jimenez, Russian film producer Nina Kochelyaeva, and Cinemalaya veteran Jay Abello.

Never-before-screened films

Apart from the feature films, Cinemalaya will show never-before-screened films from acclaimed Filipino directors in its Premiere Section.

List of films below:

  • “Rizal” by National Artist Marilou Diaz-Abaya
  • “Lost Sabungeros” by Bryan Brazil
  • “And So it Begins” by Ramona Diaz
  • “Abenida” by Luisito Lagdameo Ignacio
  • “Asog” by Sean Devlin
  • “Guardia de Honor” by Jay Altajeros
  • “Lola Magdalena” by Joel C. Lamangan
  • “Transients” by Kyla Romero

Powerful actresses competing for the Best Actress award

When I saw the film trailers, I immediately noticed the power lineup of actresses competing for the Balanghai trophy.

Renowned actress Marian Rivera will make her Cinemalaya debut with “Balota”, and award winning actress Mylene Dizon is up for a comeback with the “Healing.” Mainstream actress Jane Oineza will play a young mom in “Love Child”, alongside her on and off-screen partner, RK Bagatsing.

Cordilleran actress Mai Fanglayan is also playing a lead role, while film and theatre actress Gabby Padilla is back with “Kono Basho” after competing last year with her Cinemalaya film, “Gitling.”

What are you planning to watch from this year’s edition of Cinemalaya?

Entertainment

Street Fighter special look: Blanka vs. Ryu

Jason Momoa, Andrew Koji’s characters face off

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Paramount Pictures has released a new special look for Street Fighter featuring Jason Momoa and Andrew Koji.

The short, minute-long clip shows the actors’ respective characters, Blanka and Ryu, in battle.

It opens with a chained prisoner struck by extreme electrical charges, transforming into the green-skinned, electricity-infused Blanka.

He unleashes a fierce roar. Meanwhile, Ryu drops into a fighting stance, but tells Blanka he does not want to fight him.

Forced to defend himself, Ryu then fires a signature Hadouken fireball towards Blanka, as the teaser cuts to the Street Fighter title card.

Street Fighter debuts in cinemas starting October 14. It is directed by Kitao Sakurai and stars an ensemble cast that includes Noah Centineo as Ken Masters, Callina Liang as Chun-Li, Joe “Roman Reigns” Anoai as Akuma, and Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson as Balrog, among others.

The film is set in 1993 when estranged Street Fighters Ryu and Ken Masters are thrown into combat when Chun-Li recruits them for the next World Warrior Tournament.

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Entertainment

Now Playing: Spider-Man: Brand New Day

It’s a must watch for Spidey fans who want to see Peter Parker enter his sad boy era.

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The Holland-led Spider-Man trilogy is one of my favorite franchises in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Compared to other series with admittedly disjointed plots, all of Spidey’s storylines have a clear thread leading from one to the next. Since the fourth entries after trilogies are historically lackluster, I had a lot of trepidation heading into Spider-Man: Brand New Day.

Thankfully, all those worries were unfounded. Brand New Day follows the same throughline as its predecessors, once again reinforcing Spider-Man as the strongest franchise that Marvel offers fans today.

A brand new day indeed

Coming from No Way Home, Brand New Day still has Peter Parker live a new life as a literal nobody where no one remembers who he is. So begins his existence as just Spider-Man with no friends or family.

When a new and unseen threat ravages through New York City, Spidey starts to wish that he still had friends to help him out, which leads him on an inevitable collision course with Ned and MJ. Ironically, it also leads him to other characters in the city, including the Hulk and the Punisher.

A cacophony of villains

When I first saw the trailer, I was worried about the astounding number of villains from the get-go. After all, one of the biggest problems in Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man 3, the most maligned entry in Spider-Man movie history, was the villains. Though far from the movie’s biggest problem, having too many bad guys without a solid plot led to its terrible reception. You can see why Brand New Day’s trailer raises some flags.

If you were thinking the same thing, Brand New Day does indeed have a cohesive plot. Everything flows neatly into one another. Each emotional beat of Peter feeling for his solitude mixes well with the action. In here, fight scenes feel like they have a purpose.

And there is a big bad here. It’s not just a collection of guys that Spidey has to go through. That big bad, who shall not be named at this time, doesn’t feel like just a placeholder for Peter’s internal struggles. They have a character of their own and their own struggles to solve. I wouldn’t say they’re at the level of Loki just yet, but they definitely have a better go at it than most of the MCU’s other villains.

Marvel’s New York City finally debuts

Despite being a prime location since 2012’s Avengers, New York City never really felt like the quintessential city for superheroes in the comics. In the movies, the city was just another city to be ravaged when a new villain comes along.

For the first time, Brand New Day makes the city feel like a lived-in world with a bunch of superheroes living in the neighborhood. And they do pop up.

Does Peter have a scientific problem that only a very specific hero can solve? It’s a good thing Bruce Banner is just around the corner. Does he need some muscle? Well, the Punisher is skulking around somewhere. Plus, there’s even a succinct reason why other superheroes can’t help out.

In this way, Brand New Day presents itself more like a comic book series than a one-off movie. It’s like following the story alone from issue to issue. It’s not the most perfect adaptation of the landmark city, but it goes a long way from just another ravaging of New York.

Peter’s sadness

Everything here hinges on Peter’s loneliness. Despite meeting a trove of characters across the cinematic universe, Peter yearns for time with his loved ones. But they’re gone.

Unlike the past three films where he always had someone to go home to, he has no one here. Tony Stark is dead. Aunt May is gone. Happy has gone to parts unknown. Ned and MJ have no memory of him. Brand New Day has a way of making you feel for his aches, whether the way he still keeps track of MJ or some physiological changes as a result of his predicament.

It also helps that the movie’s big bad has similar motivations. Both serve as perfect mirrors against each other, elevating both their stories effectively. And that’s all I’ll say about that.

Spider-Man: Brand New Day is a few steps behind from being a perfect Marvel movie, but it’s still an extremely strong part of the Spider-Man mythos. The trilogy, now quadrilogy, remains Marvel’s most consistent franchises to date. It’s an absolute must-watch.

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Entertainment

UNDERTALE: The Determination Symphony hits Makati in October

Determination arrives in October.

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For so small of a game, UNDERTALE quickly made it into the gaming world’s hall of fame. Despite being only a decade old, the small title has had a major influence for modern-day gamers because of its unique gameplay, its lo-fi art, and, of course, its catchy soundtrack. If you’re a fan of UNDERTALE’s soundtrack, a unique concert experience is headed your way.

On October 17, Film Concerts PH, in partnership with SOHO Live, is hosting UNDERTALE: The Determination Symphony at the Proscenium Theater in Rockwell, Makati.

The concert will be performed by the Filharmonika Orchestra and conducted by Thanapol Setabrahmana. Personally curated by creator Toby Fox and developed by Lambert Jackson with Materia Music, the concert experience showcases the game’s most recognizable tunes laid over gameplay footage playing simultaneously. Plus, for the world tour, the experience will have expanded scoring.

In the game, you play as a small child stuck in the mysterious Underground filled with interesting characters and monsters. Unlike traditional RPGs, UNDERTALE asks players to choose between building relationships and chasing after wins. It’s a unique experience that’s defined by whether you chose to make friends or fought your way to the top. It teaches players to value different ways to solve problems, all while showering them with its one-of-a-kind humor.

Pre-sales for the concert, exclusively for members of the Film Concerts PH community, start on August 4. Public sales, however, will start on August 11 via Ticketmelon.

SEE ALSO: The hunt begins: The Witcher in Concert hits Manila with surprises in tow

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