Cinemalaya Cinco (2009)

 

CLICK HERE for the Cinemalaya 2009 Schedule of  Events

 

CinemaRehiyon 2009, etc

02/20/2009. I was scheduled for a vacation on this day so I was searching for some place to visit or an event to attend in the net until I came across with Teatrong Mulat’s restaging of Sita and Rama: Papet Ramayana to be held at CCP in celebration of the 40th Anniversary of the CULTURAL CENTER OF THE PHILIPPINES. Sadly though, all tickets were sold out on all performance schedules so my hope of seeing Cynthia Alexander (she was the musical director) have again failed in vain.

On a late afternoon at the Cultural Center

BUT, that didn’t mean I haven’t gone to CCP that day. Luckily enough, my colleague/friend and fellow CCP fan, Shiela is also going there to watch CinemaRehiyon, a film festival featuring indie films made by budding filmmakers from various cities and provinces of the Philippines like Bacolod, Baguio, Cagayan de Oro, Cebu, Davao, Iloilo and Naga. The festival which ran from Feb 18 to 21, 2009 was an official event of the Philippine International Arts Festival 2009 and a project of  National Commission for Culture and Arts in cooperation with the Cultural Center of the Philippines.

The screenings are for free and were held at CCP’s DreamTheater (this ain’t just a heavy metal band name) from 1 to 5 pm. For us who went there last Friday,  we were able to watch short films from Nueva Ecija, Pampanga, Laguna, Kalinga, Baguio and Naga. Some films ran for as short as 10 minutes while some went up to 30 minutes and were mostly done in local dialects  which added to the indigenous appeal of the film. Most films depict some harsh realities like to those of “Gamot sa Pagkabagot” from Nueva Ecija, which presents the many dimensions of sexual experiences to a woman’s life, its pleasures and pain; “Supot” which tells the tales of a young boy who sells plastic bags in the market, who befriends a cat in which he tells his problems, his dreams and his ambitions at the same time knowing their limitations having grown by a “pamilyang gago” as what his father who’s a jeepney barker had told him and the psychedelic “Sagimsim” of Baguio, which focuses more about youth issues. Some depict the colorful Filipino way of life like “Ugat sa Lupa” of Laguna which was by the way a silent film. One remarking statement coming from the director of  “Ugat..”  was he said that “Walang pelikulang totoo…” after having asked why there was suddenly grenade explosions on the part of the scene where the children were just playing on the field. “Ing Bangkeru” of Pampanga is a witty 10-minute film about a Philosophy student of Manila and the boatman. Done on black and white and shot on the Pampanga river, the art film makes you wonder about our differing philosophies and world-views. Another interesting film were those done by a native of Lubuagan, Kalinga. In “Kalimed” and “Killeg”  Golda “Kalimed” Pay-Ong highlighted their way of life, their place and cultural history which makes you appreciate the rich cultural diversity of our country.

The last full-length film for that day is “Brutus” by Tara Illenberger. Although we didn’t get to attend the screening, and well, we have watched it already last Cinemalaya 2008,  the film tackles environmental issues specifically illegal logging. With musical scoring directed by Joey Ayala, the film showcased the majestic scenery of Mindoro which was truly awesome.

Actually, the films we’ve seen were really impressive, profound in such  a way that it leaves you with questions about existence, about priorities in life and things that you  should never miss to appreciate. They were not low budget films with meaningless story lines. They were well thought of, well done or should I say well edited on the technical part and very much intelligent and interesting. If only all of us have this kind of taste for our movie choices then it’d be very inspiring.

Also, we got the chance to view the photo exhibit of  PA(ng)LABAS – architecture + cinema, “a projection of  Filipino Space in Film”. Now I would say my Friday was such a blast,  although I left my camera and so we missed our chance of having a photo with the artist/filmmaker Kidlat Tahimik who also attended the filmshowings.

“O diba, mas maganda kung may art sa buhay mo?”

February is National Arts Month

For more info, visit:

www.ncaa.gov.ph

http://www.culturalcenter.gov.ph/