Our dream this past week was to spend every waking moment inside theaters, watching all the films in this year’s Cinemalaya Independent Film Festival. That proved to be impossible, thanks to deadlines and a lot of sold-out screenings, but we still tried to watch as many films as we could.
Our top picks are “Babagwa” and “Quick Change,” though we still have others on our wish list: “Ekstra,” “Transit,” “Porno,” “Instant Mommy,” “Sana Dati.”
With only two festival days left, prioritizing which films to watch will be difficult. So we asked other film buffs (including some of our favorite actors and filmmakers from this year’s Cinemalaya lineup) for their top picks.
Heartfelt simplicity
“My favorites in the New Breed category are ‘Instant Mommy’ for its solid performances, especially by Eugene Domingo and the script by Leo Abaya; ‘Purok 7’ for its heartfelt simplicity; and ‘Transit’ for its eye-opening theme and photography.” —Senedy Que, scriptwriter of the Cinemalaya Directors Showcase entry “Liars”
“I recommend, of course, our films ‘Quick Change’ and ‘Porno’ because they tackle serious issues and give ideas on how we should deal with certain things in life.” —Jun-Jun Quintana, actor
“Angel Aquino stars in ‘Porno,’ so you know you’ll never go wrong watching that! Kidding aside, I have to give it to her. With that kind of role, there are only two possible outcomes: you get respected for being a versatile actor, and you win the most awesome award.” —Luke Jickain, model/actor
“I haven’t seen ‘Ekstra’ yet but that’s the one I’m most excited about. Aside from being a Vilmanian, I think it’s time people realize that extras/talents have a more difficult time than they think. I think it’s going to be an eye-opener for everyone.” —Bela Padilla, actress
“Natuwa ako sa ‘Ekstra’ ni Vilma Santos. Trailer pa lang, maganda na. I also like ‘Sana Dati’ with Lovi Poe. Interesting yung story, maraming good reviews about it. And, of course, ‘Burgos’ because I’m part of it!” —Rocco Nacino, actor
“I only got to see three films but ‘Ekstra’ was funny to me. I experienced TV work for the first time recently and that movie really did summarize everything about the TV, and even film, environment.” —Alex Medina, actor, “Babagwa”
“I love ‘Ekstra,’ ‘Babagwa’ and, siyempre biased ako, ‘Instant Mommy,’ of which I’m coproducer.” —Chris Martinez
“I’ve only seen our own film, ‘Transit.’ I wanna watch ‘Sana Dati,’ ‘Babagwa,’ and ‘Ekstra.’” —Ping Medina, actor
“So far, I like these films: ‘Babagwa,’ ‘Quick Change,’ ‘Purok 7.’ I still need to watch eight more films this weekend.” —Joey Paras, actor, “Babagwa”
Catch Cinemalaya 2013 at CCP, Greenbelt 3, TriNoma and Alabang Town Center until Sunday. For screening schedules, visit https://www.cinemalaya.org. Niño Mark Sablan, Contributor