We present the list of short films that will compete at the Cinemalaya Independent Film Festival (Philippines) which will take place from August 2nd – 11th, 2019.

— Finalists – (More information will be available soon)

Wag mo Kong Kausapin (Please Stop Talking) by Josef Gacutan
Philippines | 2017 – 14 minutes

An animated film centered on Sixto, an elderly man who tries to repair his relationship with his estranged son, Please Stop Talking explores loneliness, regret and isolation at old age. (SGIFF 2018 Catalogue)

Disconnection Notice by Glenn Lowell Averia – Philippines | 2018

Away from his home in the province, Paul shuffles between the responsibilities of being the eldest sibling in their apartment and reconnecting with his youngest brother Carl who now lives with him.

Gatilyo by Harold Lance Pialda – Philippines | 2018 – 15 minutes

Mental health is also the main theme of “Gatilyo,” which tells the story of a soldier (Rocky Salumbides), the lone survivor of an ambush, who is being haunted by the war he survived. (Business Mirror)

Heist School by Julius Renomeron Jr. – Philippines | 2018 – 18 minutes

A ragtag group of students try to steal from the faculty room as they save both their grades and their friendship. (FilmFreeway Profile)

Hele ng maharlika (Lullaby of the free) by Norvin De Los Santos – Philippines

In the midst of an ongoing siege, a reluctant child combatant finds a safe place to pray where he meets a newly orphaned, infidel boy who seeks refuge in the unknown.

Kontrolado ni girly ang buhay niya by Gilb Baldoza – Philippines

Gay teenager Girly looks for a job in a world he is unaware of

Sa among agway (In between Spaces) by Don Senoc – Philippines

Jun is a farmer who lives near a pineapple field with his mother Dita and his brother Mako. His aunt from Manila who can’t bear a child offers to adopt Mako with a promise to give him a good life. Jun and Mako face their impending separation and think of ways they can spend every minute together.

Sa gabing tanging liwanag ay paniniwala (Belief as the light in darkness) by Francis Amir Guillermo – Philippines

The continuous disappearance of townsmen ignited the town captain to search the woods in order to find out who is behind the disappearances and where are the people being brought to. Upon his search, the town captain and his son came across a mysterious answer.

The Shoemaker by Sheron Dayoc – Philippines

Set in Marikina, the shoe capital of the Philippines, an aging lady shoemaker gets a visit from her first love who abandoned her for three decades.

Tembong (Connecting) by Shaira Advincula
Philippines | 2018 – 15 minutes

Grieving for the recent passing of his mother, a T’boli man in South Cotabato collects a series of patterns as an abaca spirit visits him in his dreams. This sends him on a journey of unearthing his history, making him disregard the consequences of defying a sanctified practice through secretly enduring the tedious process of weaving T’nalak, defining birth, life, marriage, and death, a sacred cloth only to be weaved by women. (FilmFreeway Profile)