Cinemalaya

CINEMALAYA 2025 SHORTS

RANKING FOR CINEMALAYA 2025 SHORTS: 1️⃣ Hasang (Daniel de la Cruz) - A friend to the animals, humans, and the environment, this film can talk gibberish all day, yet you understand where they’re coming from and where they’re heading to. The final scene makes you wanna say “glug glug glug” which can mean it’s the end of the world… or we can still save the world. This film can exhibit creativity—without undermining its intended message. 2️⃣ Figat (Handiong Kapuno) - Seeing a k

Oct 10, 2025

OPEN ENDINGS

Open Endings (Cinemalaya 2025) Directed by: Nigel Santos As viewers, we have our own biases on how we’d like a certain story to move forward. We want characters to behave in such a way that meets our expectations. But this film works wonders. It makes us forget that we are viewers who see things from the outside . We are transported into their living room, breathing the same air with them. Whenever they talk, we listen and we don’t judge . Whenever they fight, we are the fi

Oct 8, 2025

PAGLILITIS

Paglilitis (2025) Directed by: Cheska Marfori Nung nalaman mo kung ano ang nangyari sa bida, maaawa ka para sa kanya. Nung nakita mo ang kanilang sitwasyon, mauunawaan mo ang kanyang desisyon. Ngunit hindi sapat sa pelikulang ito ang awa at pang-unawa lang. Nung nag-aaway na sila, gusto mong mag-mura at magsabi ng shutang ina. Mula sa lungkot , napunta na ito sa galit . Ngunit hindi ulit sila nakuntento na magalit ka lang. Dapat ay may gawin ka rin. Kapag ang mabibigat na em

Oct 7, 2025

CINEMARTYRS

Cinemartyrs (2025) Directed by: Sari Dalena This movie can be a lot of things. Minsan, akala mo nasa loob ka ng isang classroom at nakikinig sa nonstop lectures ng professors. Minsan, parang nakahithit ka at napasama sa acid trip ng ibang tao. Despite the weirdness of it all, you ask for more. The actors look so committed with what they’re doing. You trust them that this movie is worth more than what it seems. As you wait, the weirdness is brought to the next level. For some

Oct 7, 2025

BLOOM WHERE YOU ARE PLANTED

Bloom Where You Are Planted (2025) Written & Directed by: Noni Abao You might expect a documentary about 3 activists to be explosive and loud, but this one’s pleasantly different. The sceneries remind us of the beauty of living. Relationships are sacred. No matter how often they’re shown, thriving crops are always a better sight than witnessing a life suffering. The documentary is full of quiet and calm moments. But when they do speak, most answers rekindle a fire—which can a

Oct 7, 2025

CHILD NO. 82

Child No. 82 (Cinemalaya 2025) Directed by: Tim Rone Villanueva Having a loving mother, it’s quite ungrateful for the son to keep looking for his father, who abandoned them right from the start. There’s a blind fanaticism over the father—which takes a long while to get acknowledged. For that, it can be dragging at times. A conversation or two could’ve wrapped up the whole movie, yet they created an itinerary for the main character to accomplish. His journey has an on-and-o

Oct 6, 2025

RAGING

Raging (Cinemalaya 2025) Written & Directed by: Ryan Machado No matter how good of an actor he is, Elijah Canlas just blends with the cinematography—and he is not to blame. Instead of empathizing with the main character, you criticize the fall of a heavy rain and the touch of a filthy mud. You become obsessed with the earthy elements, which will never be sufficient to compensate for real human experience. Instead of getting interested with the story and its character, the mor

Oct 6, 2025

PADAMLAGAN

Padamlágan (Cinemalaya 2025) Directed by: Jenn Romano From visuals to sound, this movie is technically beautiful. Transitions between photos and videos are seamless. The musical scoring is compelling. Together with the warm color grading, the cinematography is pleasing to the eyes. But can a film truly succeed without emotional connection? Lacking feelings and expressions, the lead character is being overshadowed by his surroundings. There are moments that could have been int

Oct 5, 2025

HABANG NILALAMON NG HYDRA ANG KASAYSAYAN

Habang Nilalamon ng Hydra ang Kasaysayan (Cinemalaya 2025) Written & Directed by: Dustin Celestino The film starts with a black screen and ends with a white screen . Everything in between falls into gray areas . You can’t summarize it with just one color. It’s more nuanced than that. As complex as the characters, the story has many layers that you don’t initially see as you’re blinded by emotions. When things don’t go your way, it’s easy to get mad. But instead of dwelling o

Oct 5, 2025