A documentary on the quest of finding “pagkaing Iloco” in the midst of a pandemic. Micro food establishments have been gravely affected by the pandemic. The film features the struggles faced by Ilocano food entrepreneurs and how they slowly rise amidst the challenges of this health crisis.

After years of being teased as the town’s old virgin, Lola Mayumi decides to hire a young callboy who never expected to have an elderly client. When the two meet, an unlikely connection forms between them. After a night of intimacy and vulnerability, Lola Mayumi and the callboy start to question their beliefs.

Shiri De Leon, the director of Ang Pagdadalaga Ni Lola Mayumi, said that addressing prevalent issues through art is a social responsibility. "I think for us as filmmakers, it is our responsibility to be able to not only tell the story of a character but to be able to address problems and issues," she said.

"We have the responsibility to show reality to our audiences as well and I think it is really important to infuse what we want our audience to be aware of," she added.

A young woman struggles to find herself after losing her father during World War II. Set in Pampanga in 1940, Remedios Gomez is a classic woman through and through, and she has the town’s beauty pageant crown to prove it. But when the Empire of Japan invades the Philippines, plunging the country into unmitigated chaos and violence, her quiet provincial life is completely overturned. After her father is tortured and killed by the Japanese for his refusal to obey them, Remedios runs to the mountains with her brother Oscar to join the Hukbalahap resistance and find renewed purpose in the war. Once she arrives in the thick jungle encampment, however, she discovers that not only does being a woman limit her options in the resistance, but her suppressed grief over her father’s death continues to persist. She must grapple with both obstacles as she tries to find the strength to be who she needs to be for her country, while still unapologetically being herself.  

Beauty Queen director Myra Aquino said that filmmakers should find the balance between telling a good story and addressing social issues.

"Similar to what the other filmmakers said, you don't think how social issues affect you—it is something that you feel inside and you feel like you need to say something about it; for my film, I think it is coming out in the time when we are really seeing a lot of films regarding female empowerment. I kind of wanted to explore ideas on gender roles and gender politics through the lens of World War II and see how it affects the way women see themselves as leaders in society," she explained.

"So I think even for a short film you could say so much politically while still trying to tell a story. I think it is challenging to maintain that balance but as filmmakers, we still try to say something," she concluded. 

Driven by desperation, security guard Gabriel Arkanghell resorts to robbing a bus. Just before he could commit the crime, two seasoned robbers beat him to the punch. As one of them approaches his seat, Gabriel tightens his grip on his concealed firearm and struggles to make the decision whether to become a hero and take the robbers down or fall victim to the robbery himself.

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Santi, an ill-behaved child, steals a dinosaur toy which makes his father mad. After he runs away from home, Santi accidentally drowns in the river but wakes up on a mysterious island where odd traditions are meant to be followed. He is then sentenced to clean the shore full of trash as punishment for stealing the revenant's sacred boat. Luckily, an old woman helps him and they form a strong bond. But after helping the old woman achieve her peace, the revenant finally allows him to leave their sanctuary. He returns home but his father is nowhere to be found. Instead, he finds the dinosaur toy floating on the river.

A community fears the tikbalang (a mythical horse demon in Philippine folklore) which is mistakenly blamed for various killings in the forest. Gubat, a tikbalang, transforms into a teenage boy and searches for the truth. In the mountain, he meets Darren, an American botanist who is looking for rafflesias. His interactions with the American unravel his inner desires that he has never faced before. This pushes him to reveal his identity and puts his life at risk.

After getting disposed of, a facemask starts to turn into a humanoid figure. It searches for its previous owner but finds him already with a new and better face mask. It gets heartbroken then wanders around different places in Manila, and eventually finds another similar looking facemask figure.

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Entirely shot using a mobile phone, the film depicts life during the quarantine. It focuses on the story of Lolang Keyag who lives in isolation with her baby grandson Eli, as she was left to take care of him during the lockdown period. Despite the difficulties faced in this trying time, she tries her best to be hopeful for her grandson.

Elle, a young model new to the industry, arrives at the set of her first commercial job to discover that the initial idea was scrapped. A mysterious new concept has been developed, but the crew and director keep forgetting to let her know what it is. However, after an afternoon of tight costume fittings, rough prop work, and meetings with creepy producers, Elle begins to suspect something else might be afoot.

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After witnessing an awkward fight between her writer and his girlfriend, a comic strip illustrator decides to tell him what is plaguing his relationships with other girls. The conversation explodes into a discussion on relationships, social norms, their history, and their possible future, and it becomes increasingly clearer that the trajectory of their career and friendship are on the line.

 J.C., a prepubescent boy, slowly learns of his special role in the impending apocalypse during a religious camp. As he participates in the camp activities, he gets confused between constantly emerging sexual fantasies and his divine calling.

"Ate," an ageing household helper, struggles with the slow, dull, day-to-day depression of home quarantine in the midst of a nationwide lockdown. Her two teenage employers also struggle and cope in their own way, but seem to take out their negative feelings on her. After running a series of stressful chores for them, Ate finds a familiar medicine that gives her an unexpected form of relief and a newfound connection with the teenagers in her care.

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How To Watch

As of this writing, tickets for the upcoming Cinemalaya film festival are still unavailable. For more updates, please visit the CCP and Cinemalaya websites. Follow the official CCP and Cinemalaya social media accounts.