RANKING FOR CINEMALAYA 2025 MOVIES 1️⃣ Open Endings (Nigel Santos) 2️⃣ Paglilitis (Cheska Marfori) 3️⃣ Habang Nilalamon Ng Hydra Ang...

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Warla (Cinemalaya 2025) Written & Directed by: Kevin Alambra When struggles of women are being shared, it’s only right to listen and empathize with them. It’s not that hard to do—especially when the actresses are raw, real, and empowering in their own ways. Kung anu man ang sabihin ni Lance Reblando, agad mo itong papaniwalaan. Hindi mo siya pagdududahan dahil ramdam mo ang kanyang sinseridad. Walang eme eme. Pang-Warla ang level ng aktingan ni KaladKaren sa pelikulang ito. L

Republika ng Pipolipinas (Cinemalaya 2025) Written & Directed by: Renei Dimla A mockumentary about a micronation named Pipolipinas and its self-proclaimed president. Most of the time, the lead character is not convincing. Therefore, everything she’s fighting for feels undeserving of support. She has no concrete plans for her own nation. She doesn’t know how to protect her citizens. However, at the very least, she is kind and she is not corrupt. There’s a sense of complacency

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