ALL PRESS RELEASES
The diverse jury members for Cinemalaya 2026 and the NETPAC award
For its 22nd edition, the Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival has once again assembled a distinguished panel of filmmakers, curators, critics, producers, and cultural practitioners from the Philippines and across the globe to serve as jurors who will decide who will take home the coveted Balanghai trophy.
Drawn from different fields of cinema and the arts, the jurors bring a breadth of experience in filmmaking, criticism, curation, cultural work, and international festival programming that will shape the wide range of perspectives in evaluating this year’s Cinemalaya.
ICYMI: Cinemalaya 22: Reel Reflections celebrates stories that mirror the Filipino experience
For 22 years, the Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival has championed fearless storytelling and nurtured generations of Filipino filmmakers whose works challenge, inspire, and provoke meaningful conversations. This year, the country’s premier independent film festival returns with a longer run, from August 6 to 18, inviting audiences to embark on a journey of introspection through films that illuminate the many facets of the human condition.
Cinemalaya 21 closes with a tribute to the late auteur Mike de Leon
In honor of one of the most important and influential filmmakers in Philippine cinema, the Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival will close its 21st edition with Mike De Leon’s Kakabakaba Ka Ba? at the Shangri-La Plaza Red Carpet Cinemas 1 & Premiere Theater on October 11, 8:00 PM.
Who will sail away with the Balanghai trophies?
The Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival not only recognizes talented Filipino independent filmmakers, but also distinguished individuals who take on the challenging task of selecting the films that will bring home the coveted Balanghai trophies.
The Cinema of ‘Cinemartyrs’
A young filmmaker stated on their social media post upon seeing the teaser for the latest film directed by Sari Dalena, it’s like “the Avengers: Endgame of PH Alternative Cinema.” That may not be far from the truth as within fifteen seconds, luminaries such as auteur Lav Diaz and National Artist Kidlat Tahimik have their moment on screen.
Cinemalaya short film ‘Please Keep This Copy’ experiments with memory by recalling the all boys Catholic high school experience using only old documents
Student filmmaker “Miko” Miguel Lorenzo Peralta makes his Cinemalaya debut with his experimental documentary short film “Please Keep This Copy,” which presents his personal experience growing up as a part of the last batch of all-boys students from an elite private Catholic high school during the Duterte administration. However, rather than showing any video footage, the film instead presents the story only through the use of scanned documents, old doodles on ripped pieces of pad paper, and other memorabilia from high school, and pairing them with archival audio recordings taken during that time.
901 Studios Supports Two Film Entries at Cinemalaya 2025
Independent film powerhouse 901 Studios continues its commitment to groundbreaking storytelling by supporting Giya Studios and Gate 11 Collective to bring two highly anticipated features to this year's Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival. Padamlagan, a Giya Studios production, and The Next 24 Hours, a Gate 11 Collective production. This collaboration reinforces 901 Studio's dedication to artistic integrity and promises to captivate audiences with two distinct and compelling cinematic experiences.