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Cinemalaya 2022 Guide: Screening schedule and trailers for all full-length films

By Kara Santos Published Aug 04, 2022 1:13 pm

Calling all cinephiles and fans of local independent films. After two years, the Cinemalaya Festival is finally back with on-site film screenings.

The 2022 run of the country's premier independent film festival runs from August 5 to 14 at the Cultural Center of the Philipines (CCP).

This year, guests can watch the 11 full-length film entries and 12 short features on the big screens at CCP as well as select Ayala Malls in the NCR and Regional Branches, SM NCR Branches, and SM Regional branches.

This year's opening film will be Martika Ramirez Escobar's Leonor Will Never Die, which was previously screened in international film festivals including the Istanbul Film Festival - IKSV, Buenos Aires Intl Festival of Independent Film, and Udine Far East Film Festival.

Here’s the latest schedule and all the trailers for the full-length films screening this year for the 18th Cinemalaya 2022.

Screening schedule

What to watch
12 Weeks 
  • Cast: Max Eigenmann, Bing Pimentel, Vance Larena, Claudia Enriquez
  • Director: Anna Isabelle Matutina

Synopsis: After ending her toxic relationship with her boyfriend Ben, 40-year-old Alice discovers she is pregnant. With her age and current relationship status, her first instinct is to have the pregnancy terminated. As her body undergoes dramatic changes, Alice struggles and needs to decide what to do. Will she slide back into the arms of Ben? What will this mean for the child growing inside her? 

Angkas
  • Cast: Joem Bascon, Benjamin Alves, Meryll Soriano, Jolo Estrada (special participation)
  • Director: Rainerio C. Yamson II

SynopsisLeo is not just an ordinary habal-habal driver. He is the resident ambulance and delivery man in a remote village in Compostela Valley who is hired to transport the dead down the mountain. One day, his estranged friend Miguel appeared on his doorstep and insisted to join Leo in fetching the corpse of Ditas, their childhood friend who is a rebel pursued by the military. As Leo and Miguel embark on a dangerous journey in a habal-habal, their fragile friendship will be tested, and they will encounter danger only to be saved by an unlikely hero. 

Batsoy 
  • Cast: Sean Ethan Sotto, Markko Cambas, Karen Laurrie Mendoza, Nathan J. Sotto, Jonalie Asdolo, Annalyn Biona Hipolito
  • Director: Ronald Espinosa Batallones

SynopsisTwo young siblings go on a fantastical adventure to satiate their much-coveted and delectable craving for batsoy. After selling firewood for their basic needs, siblings Toto and Nonoy go and buy batsoy, the food that the younger brother has been craving the most. Mt. Manaphag, which faces the town of San Dionisio, becomes the silent witness to their journey to satisfy their craving. Their adventure will ultimately bring viewers to a world of magic, fantasy and reality. 

Bula sa Langit 
  • Cast: Gio Gahol, Kate Alejandrino
  • Director: Sheenly Gener

SynopsisActing as if coming home from a vacation, young Marawi war veteran Wesley is excited to bring his girlfriend Ritz home to meet his family. Showered with unsolicited hero worship upon his homecoming, Wesley struggles to reconnect his present relationships with his family and lover all while celebrating the town fiesta. Overwhelmed and alienated, the young soldier finds himself haunted by one of his traumatic kills, and in this internal war he is alone. Compounded and triggered, his frustration shoots up in one of his conversations with Ritz. He impulsively goes to the carnival to confront his trauma. 

Bakit ‘Di Mo Sabihin? 
  • Cast: JC De Vera, Janine Gutierrez, Divine Aucina, Sheenly Gener, RJ Agustin, Sunshine Teodoro, Althea Ruedas, Luke Simon Cornel, Dess Verzosa, Disney Aguila, Jamil Carvajal
  • Director: Real S. Florido

SynopsisA deaf couple learns that it is not their inability to speak or hear that tears them apart. Deaf couple Miguel and Nat have been struggling to keep their marriage. After a huge fight, Miguel leaves his wife alone in Manila and decides to live in Baler with their kids. As he starts a new life, Miguel is reminded about the reasons why he married Nat by his family’s relentless stories about how modern a woman Nat is, and how he failed in so many ways to recognize that he fell in love with a younger deaf woman. One Christmas Eve, Miguel finally makes a move to tell Nat everything she needed to know. 

Blue Room 
  • Cast: Juan Karlos, Harvey Bautista, Nourijune, Keoni Jin and Elijah Canlas. With Soliman Cruz, Bombi Plata, Jericho Arceo, Bon Lentejas, and Richard Cepeda
  • Director: Ma-an L. Asuncion-Dagñalan

Synopsis: Rebel Rebel, an indie rock band composed of woke albeit sheltered teens, gets its biggest break at a prestigious local music festival. But after their celebratory night at the local bar, they are arrested for drug possession. Instead of the standard procedures, they were hauled to the Blue Room, a VIP detention area where they can bribe their way out through rogue cops. The band members have to decide whether to use their privilege to go on with their lives or to own up to what they had been preaching. 

Ginhawa 
  • Cast: Andrew Ramsay, Duane Lucas Pascua, Ruby Ruiz, Rolando Inocencio, Dido de la Paz, Ruth Lopez-Dee, Elan Villafuerte, Shun Andrei Bacalla, Roel Abao, Kiko Matos, Jun Nayra, Jan Rebong, Chanel Latorre
  • Director: Christian Paolo Lat

Synopsis: Anton is an aspiring boxer. He hopes to continue the legacy of his older brother Saul who was given a chance to escape poverty by joining a competition in the city but later faced tragedy. Against his mother’s wishes, Anton leaves their small fishing town to pursue boxing in Manila where he unravels the ugly truth of the brutal sport.  

Kaluskos 
  • Cast: Coleen Garcia, Queenzy Calma, Karl Medina, Cara Gonzales, Elora Españo
  • Director: Roman S. Perez Jr.

Synopsis: Rebekah files for sole custody for her young daughter Amaya. But this doesn’t sit well with her estranged husband Jay. Amid the custody battle, Rebekah finds another “Amaya” under the bed. When the other Amaya emerges, Rebekah feels the motherly connection that she lost with her daughter. The other Amaya insists that she is the real Amaya trapped under the bed because of a curse, and the other one is the impostor. Wanting to start a new life with the other Amaya, Rebekah seeks to set her free. But to do that, she needs to kill the impostor. 

Kargo 
  • Cast: Max Eigenmann, Jess Mendoza, Myles Robles, Ronnie Lazaro (special participation)
  • Director: TM Malones

Synopsis: A woman relieves the heavy burden from her past when she finally exacts revenge on the man who murdered her entire family. When her entire family perished in a motorcycle accident at a rough highway in Maasin, Iloilo, Sara crashed into a deep depression, which was gradually replaced with an overpowering need to avenge them. Believing that her husband and daughter were murdered, she searches for the man who killed her entire family to find some closure. But at the end of her journey, she untangles something she did not quite expect – a discovery that could profoundly change her entire life. 

Retirada 
  • Cast: Peewee O’Hara, Jerry O’Hara, Donna Cariaga, Dexter Doria, Nanding Josef, Lui Manansala, Johana Basanta
  • Directors: Milo Alto Paz, Cynthia Cruz-Paz

Synopsis: Despite her husband Edong’s assurance, Azon Marcelo experiences melancholia as she adjusts to her life as a retired government employee. Their neighbor Chayong introduces the game of Bingo to Azon. After hitting the jackpot, Azon becomes a regular Bingo player hoping to duplicate her initial windfall. But her new sense of purpose and the adrenaline rush from her new hobby would teach her what retirement really means.  

The Baseball Player 
  • Cast: Tommy Alejandrino, JM San Jose, Tess Antonio, Don Melvin Boongaling, Sue Prado, Pongs Leonardo, Joel Saracho, Bon Lentejas, Ely Cellan, Arnold Reyes (special participation)
  • Director: Carlo Obispo

Synopsis: A Moro child soldier aspires to become a baseball player amidst an all-out war. Amir, a 17-year-old Moro child soldier whose father was killed in an all-out war in 2000, dreams to live a different life – he wants to become a baseball player. Training extensively with his coach, he makes it to the final tryout of a local university. Unfortunately, another all-out war against Moro rebels breaks out in 2003, and he is confronted with making a choice between pursuing his dream or fighting in the war. 

How much are the tickets and Cinemalaya Festival passes?

Ticket prices for the Cinemalya films range from P230 (SM Regional branches) to P250 per person (CCP, Ayala Malls NCR and Regional Branches, SM NCR Branches). Students, senior citizens, PWDs, government and military personnel, and athletes can avail of a 20% discount. Festival passes are also available for P2,500. 

The Cinemalaya 18 Festival Pass gives you access to all the films in competition at CCP Venues from August 5 to 14, 2022. Each festival pass has thirteen (13) screening credits; one (1) credit is good for each of the 11 full-length films and 2 sets of shorts films.

To Buy Tickets:

  1. Got to the CCP Box Office or call 8832-3704. It is open from Tuesday to Friday, 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM and on weekends when there are ongoing shows at the CCP.
  2. Visit https://premier.ticketworld.com.ph/ or call 8891-9999.
  3. Visit https://smtickets.com/ or call 8470-2222.

To get festival passes, visit culturalcenter.gov.ph.