2016 Cinemalaya short film finalists revealed

The Cinemalaya Foundation on Friday released the list of short film finalists for the 12th edition of the festival.

Cinemalaya also came out with an updated lineup of the full-length feature films included in the main competition.

"Ang Mga Bisita Ni Mamang" by twins Denise and Janice O'Hara has been replaced by "Maselang Bahagari" by J.E. Tiglao but the rest of the finalists announced on August 16, 2015 are still on the list:

•     “Kusina” by David Corpuz and Cenon Palomares
•     “Lando At Bugoy” by Vic Acedillo, Jr.
•     “Mercury Is Mine” by Jason Paul Laxamana
•     “Pamilya Ordinaryo” by Eduardo Roy, Jr
•     “Tuos” by Derick Cabrido
•     “Ang Bagong Pamilya Ni Ponching” by Inna Salazar and Victor Villanueva
•     “Dagsin” by Atom Magadia
•     “Hiblang Abo” by Ralston Jover
•     “I America” by Ivan Andrew Payawal
•     "Masalang Bahaghari" by J.E. Tiglao

Meanwhile, the list of short films to be included in the festival are:

•     "Butas" by Richard Cawed
•     "Fish Out of Water" by Ramon Alberto Garilao (Mon A.L. Garilao)
•     "Ang Maangas, Ang Marikit at Ang Makata" by Jose Ibarra Guballa
•     "Bugtaw" by Noah del Rosario
•     "Pektus" by Isabel Maria Luz M. Quesada
•     "Nakauwi Na" by John Relano
•     "Ang Hapon Ni Nanding" by Rommel Tolentino
•     "Mansyong Papel" by Ogos Aznar
•     "Get Certified" by Isaias Herrera Zantua
•     "Forever Natin" by Mary Clarence Espiritu

A cash prize of P150,000 and the Balanghai trophy is waiting for the best short film, to be awarded during the Cinemalaya Awards Night on August 14, 2016 at the CCP Tanghalang Nicanor Abelardo (CCP Main Theater).

These 10 short film finalist were selected from 158 entries and will be screened along with the film in the main competition during the 2016 Cinemalaya Film Festival on August 5-14 at the Cultural Center of the Philippines and Ayala Cinemas in Greenbelt 3, TriNoma and UP Town Center.

Main competition

For the main competition, the finalists will receive production grants of P750,000 each, representing an increase from the previous years’ P500,000.

After the critical success of "Ploning" Judy Ann Santos once again ventures in indie territory with "Kusina." In it, she plays the character Juanita, a character not different from her—a woman who finds sanctuary in cooking and the kitchen.

Cooking is also the theme of "Mercury is Mine", which follows the life of Carmen, a woman who is about to lose her eatery at the foot of Mt. Arayat.

"Lando at Bugoy" and "Pamilya Ordinaryo" show contrasting familial relations, with the former documenting the effects of a 40-year-old man returning to high school (much to the annoyance of his son) and the other chronicling the life of teenage parents making a living on the streets.

Text scams gets its own narrative in "Ang Bagong Pamilya Ni Ponching", where a religious man cons someone into thinking that he is a bastard child of a departed relative. A stronger spiritual theme runs in "Dagsin", where an atheist opens himself to the idea of an afterlife after his wife dies.

"Maselang Bahaghari" and "I America" plays with the concept of identity, both cultural and sexual. Completing the lineup are "Tuos" and "Hiblang Abo", one tradition and the other ponders on memory and old age. — VVP, GMA News