An early look at Cinemalaya 2014

PEP.ph has recently released the list of official finalists for Cinemalaya 2014. Since we've been covering the festival in this blog as far as 2007-ish and since it's the tenth anniversary, lets take a look at the films showing this year. A bunch of returning directors and actors/actresses as well as a lot of newcomers are along for this year's cinematic ride.

The synopses and titles are lifted from the above link and are in italics, my comments will be in bold.

 

New Breed Category:

1. "DAYANG ASU" ("In Pampanga, We Eat Dogs")
LOGLINE: Amidst legalized corruption, a son struggles to prove to his father that he is fit to survive in a dog-eat-dog society.

Looks interesting. Concepts for this film include animal cruelty and corruption, so I'm guessing this will be from dudes who raise dogs for their meat. Probably an uncomfortable film to watch for animal lovers, but we'll see.

Find them on FB here.

2. "1ST KO SI 3RD"
 LOGLINE: A 65-year old woman gets reunited with her 1st love and finally the supposed 1st date happens four decades after they got separated.

This movie stars Nova Villa as the woman in the synopsis. This has the potential to be a crowd pleaser if done right. Plus I'm a softie for old dudes in love.

Find them on FB here.

3. "SUNDALONG KANIN"
LOGLINE: Set during the Japanese Occupation, four friends (Nitoy, Benny, Carding, and Badong) aspire nothing more than to become soldiers fighting the Japanese... until they are confronted by the realities of war that threaten to destroy their families and their friendship.
 

Sounds like that one movie in an earlier Cinemalaya about the Japanese occupation. Janice O'Hara wrote this, and is directed by Jerry O'Hara, who are both related to the late director Mario O'Hara. Not really expecting anything for this but I hope it's good.

Find them on FB here.

4. "K'NA, THE DREAMWEAVER"
LOGLINE: When K'na, a young T'boli woman, becomes a dreamweaver, she has the chance to weave together her village's warring clans. But, will she give up true love to do so?

This is quite interesting. It's based on the T'boli dreamweavers in South Cotabato, a place we haven't seen much in movies. If the movie is as good as the production pictures, this looks to be a beautiful looking movie.

Find them on FB here.

Watch a teaser of the movie here.

5. "RONDA"
LOGLINE: A policewoman who patrols Manila during the night arrests her teenage son for killing his lover.

This was written partly by Adolfo Alix. He's a love it or hate it kind of filmmaker. Personally he's okay, and the last film I saw that he wrote (Alamat ni China Doll) is great. I couldn't find out much information about the film online (granted, I didn't try that hard) so this may or may not be the surprise film of the festival.

6. "BWAYA"
LOGLINE: DIVINA is preparing for her daughter Rowena’s 13th birthday when she hears a shocking news: her daughter has been attacked by a crocodile, her body still missing. As Divina searches for the body of her daughter in the marshlands of Agusan del Sur, she learns a lesson more tragic than her fate: not all predators are underwater. Based on actual events.

Again, not a lot of info about this movie, but it is directed by Francis Xavier Pasion, who directed the 2010 Cinemalaya winner Jay. The premise is also interesting, so I'm watching out for this one.

7. "MARIQUINA"

LOGLINE: Unlike the former Philippine First Lady, Imelda is indifferent towards shoes. To her, they are fraught with the bittersweet nostalgia of childhood, one that was marred by a difficult relationship with her shoe-maker father, Romeo. Growing up, all of hers were handmade by him. Now a mature woman, she takes a pivotal call from the morgue, spurring her search for the perfect pair of shoes for her dead father. The deeper she searches for the perfect shoes, the more she finds herself.

Liking this already. Looks like a character study with twists and turns, and I'm interested in how they will cinematically portray Marikina's shoe industry. Jerrold Tarog, who directed last year's Sana Dati wrote the screenplay, so I'm pumped.

Find them on FB here.

8. "DAGITAB" (SPARKS)
LOGLINE: While the marriage of two professors is on the verge of falling apart, the woman is dragged into a scandal involving a young student. On the other hand, the man falls in love with his research -- a deity (supernatural being) that appears to him as the ghost of an old flame.

The premise is interesting. Magical realism maybe? Something between science and mysticism? Hannah Espia, of last year's Transit, is a producer.

The FB page is sparse, but it's here.

9. “# Y”
LOGLINE: “# Y” (“Hashtag Y”) chronicles the adventures of the members of a generation made universal by the realms of social media, the internet, sex, drugs, and alcohol, and the occasional YOLO.

Oh dear. If the premise sounds familiar, the film is directed by Gino Santos, who directed Cinemalaya 2012's The Animals (a film that I'm okay with, but I felt lacked sympathetic characters.)  It stars Elmo Magalona in a 'dark' role. That isn't very reassuring to me. I hope this isn't another rehash(tag) of his previous film.

10. “SEPARADOS”
LOGLINE: The mostly bittersweet, partly comic, partly tragic saga of six men who have separated from their wives. Based on true stories, their parallel and overlapping tales are framed by a church wedding to a second wife by one of them, who grabs another chance at matrimonial bliss.

GB Sampedro directs this movie. He was the director for Cinemalaya 2009's ASTIG, which won a lot of awards, but was a film that I didn't like due to tons of problems. The screenplay was written by Eric Ramos, who if I'm not mistaken was the editor in chief of FHM back in the day. He also wrote Pitik Bulag which starred Paloma. It's an ok film and I might put up a review of it later. The premise for this movie is different from what these two have made before, but I'm approaching this one with caution until I see a trailer.

DIRECTORS SHOWCASE Category:

 

"HUSTISYA" (JUSTICE)
LOGLINE: A foul-mouthed woman fights for her soul in the belly of the city. Working for a human trafficking agency controlled by a powerful syndicate, she sees no evil, hears no evil. In a society like ours, you have only two choices -- to be a victim, or a victimizer. She makes her choice.

On paper, this has all the trappings of a hit. It stars Nora Aunor, the screenplay is written by Ricky Lee, and Joel Lamangan is director. Lamangan last partnered with Aunor with The Flor Contemplacion Story, also with Ricky Lee as screenwriter. I haven't enjoyed Joel Lamangan's Cinemalaya entries that much so I'm a bit on the fence with this one. But if Vilma pulled it off with Ekstra last year, I'm betting with a good script this will be a winner.

As an aside I want Nora and Vilma to do a movie again. Like a Si T-bird at Ako 2: Electric Boogaloo. Make it happen, Philippine Cinema.

Find them on FB here.

“ASINTADO” (BETWEEN THE EYES)
LOGLINE: In the middle of preparations for the Taong Putik Festival, a young man, penniless and in love, takes on a drug courier job that goes terribly wrong. To save him, his mother now makes the most difficult decision of her life.

The actors and actresses involved in this film include Aiko Melendez, Jake Vargas, Rochelle Pangilinan (of Sex Bomb fame) and so on. The director of this film is Louie Ignacio, who is more known as a TV director, so it's going to be interesting to see what he can do with a different medium. Palanca award winner Socorro Villanueva wrote the screenplay. Given that drug courier films have been done before and that Palanca award winning screenplays are hit and miss when translated to film, the premise itself (the background of the Taong Putik festival in Nueva Ecija looks fascinating) makes me hopeful.

“HARI NG TONDO”
LOGLINE: A grandfather brings his grandchildren back to the community that made and shaped him, only to find out the place is no longer the same.

Carlitos Siguion Reyna of such films as Kailangan Kita, Hihintayin Kita sa Langit and other films of the last glory days of Philippine cinema directs. Bibeth Orteza writes the screenplay. She wrote such films as My Little Bossings, most of the Enteng Kabisote series and oh no.

“KASAL”
LOGLINE (Director’s Statement): “Kasal” is an examination on how a gay couple navigates through their own private space into a Filipino home, institutions and society as a whole.

Joselito Altarejos, who was in a previous Cinemalaya for Pink Halo Halo, directs this film. He's known for directing "pink" gay themed movies, and his last film, Unfriend, had I think a limited release here in the Philippines, or was in the festival circuit. 

“THE JANITOR”
LOGLINE: The story behind the bloodiest bank robbery in Philippine history… Crisanto Espina, an ex-cop, is tasked with liquidating the suspects who masterminded the robbery/massacre of July 16, 2013. As he diligently executes his orders while dealing with his own personal demons, he begins to realize that the whole circus of the investigation is going to eventually consume him and make him question his own faith in what he believes to be his brand of justice.

Michael Tuviera, known for directing TV and a bunch of Shake Rattle and Roll films, directs. Dennis Trillo, who was in Cinemalaya 2012's Ang Katiwala (a film that I think only I really liked somewhat, seriously, I'm like the highest rated review of this film) leads. The based on a true story premise looks nice, and it's an action film! Holy shit, when was the last time we saw that in a Cinemalaya film?