Cinemalaya Saturday

By some bizarre twist of fate, classes got suspended, my exams did not push through and I ended up watching 3 Cinemalaya films today.

To be truly honest, I'm not too excited about the films this year. Due to the lack of promotion perhaps?

Of the very few I've heard about, I'm disappointed to say that the buzz was not substantiated. I'll not say what film it was but one film (that has been creating so much buzz online) is a total letdown. To think I purposely rearranged my schedule so I can watch it today :( The story was too amateur and was far from artistic. If you follow me on twitter, you'd know what film it was. (Clue: chirp, chirp, quack, quack, moo!)

But let's not focus on the bad. Here are two of my favorites from the films I watched today:

Ruweda by Hannah Espia

This film blew me away! The first time I watched Cinemalaya, I fell in love with a film from the Shorts category and now on its 8th year, a short film, has again won my heart. The film itself is a thesis submitted by Hannah to the UP Film Institute. This alone made me admire her more. I mean, this is just her thesis! Think of what else that girl can do when given the right opportunity! It was so artistic and well-executed. The story was simple but deep at the same time. Amazing job Hannah!

Intoy Shokoy ng Kalye Marino by Lem Lorca

Two thumbs up! If I had an additional thumb, I'd raise it too! Super good! I love how the story was deep yet not dragging. The acting was superb and the scenes were well executed. I loved it. This film is Cinemalaya personified-- good script, amazing actors, great direction-- yes, it is artistic excellence at its best.

For now  my bet is Intoy Shokoy and Ruweda. I'm excited for the awarding!--and oh, let's help them win audience choice too, okay? ;)

It's only the start of Cinemalaya and a whole week is ahead and I'm getting super excited! See you at the screenings!