Cinemalaya 2025 sets sail in the deluge

CINEMALAYA SEASON IS IN full swing. Toting its now-iconic vista that symbolizes the country's frenetic and vibrant indie scene, the twenty-first edition of the fest carries the tagline "Layag sa alon, hangin, at unos," which means to sail the waves, the wind, and the storm — a subtle jab (maybe...) against the greedy designs of government officials have on local flood control projects.

True to this vision, Cinemalaya 2025 programs a fresh batch of feature-length films that tackle various issues, including displacement, historical revisionism, and systemic disinformation. Similarly, the shorts section feels charged with unique perspectives on social and national issues.

With just a couple of weeks before Cinemalaya opens in theaters, we know you're starved for a one-page guide to help you decide which films to watch. So here it is, the Unreel guide to the 2025 Cinemalaya Independent Film Festival.

Cinemalaya 2025 — Full-length features

This year's in-competition program screens a ten-pack assortment coming from emerging and established Filipino filmmakers.

Bloom Where You Are Planted

Documentary | 82 min | dir. Noni Abao

Three land rights activists contend with their volatile notions of home amid terror and red-tagging in Cagayan Valley.

Child No. 82 (Anak ni Boy Kana)

dir. Tim Rone Villanueva | 110 min | Comedy, Fantasy

At a wake, a persevering high school student must prove that he is the 82nd child of the Philippines’ biggest action-fantasy movie star in the hopes of seeing his late father one last time.

Cinemartyrs

Drama | 104 min | dir. Sari Dalena

Recreating forgotten massacres from Philippine history, a young filmmaker begins shooting at a site where 1,000 men, women, and children were slaughtered. But the angry spirits are awakened and the lives of her team and the local villagers are put in peril.

Habang Nilalamon ng Hydra ang Kasaysayan

dir. Dustin Celestino | 120 min | Drama

Four Filipinos cope with life after a painful political defeat. Each one searches for purpose as truths fade, histories blur, and memory itself becomes an act of defiance.

Open Endings

dir. Nigel Santos | 110 min | Drama, Romance

Four queer women in their 30s who are exes-turned-best-friends navigate adulthood, love, friendship, chosen families, and everything in between.

Padamlágan

dir. Jenn Romano | 90 min | Drama, History

Five days before the proclamation of Martial Law, the Colgante Bridge collapsed in Naga, forcing a father into a desperate search for his missing son.

Paglilitis

dir. Cheska Marfori | 90 min | Drama

Years after experiencing sexual harassment at her workplace, a former executive assistant is persuaded by a passionate lawyer to file a case against her rich and highly respected boss.

Raging

dir. Ryan Machado | 110 min | Drama

A young man’s quest for truth and justice intertwines with a plane crash mystery, uncovering a sinister plot that propels his desire to be heard but also threatens his community.

Republika ng Pipolipinas

dir. Renei Dimla | 105 min | Comedy

When the local government threatens to evict her from her own land, a farmer renounces her Filipino citizenship and builds her own micronation.

Warla

dir. Kevin Alambra | 90 min | Drama, Crime

Kitkat, a 19-year-old transgender woman, finds the family she’s been longing for in a gang of sisters who kidnap foreign men to fund their gender-affirming surgeries, until their crimes force her to question the true cost of belonging.

Cinemalaya 2025 — Short films

Competing in this year's short film category are a wild mix of stories and forms, inlcuding Water Sports, Whammy Alcazaren's ecologically anxious BL short, The Next 24 Hours, a lateral succession in the Carl Papa rotoscope experience (see: Iti Mapukpukaw) about the bureaucratic failures of our justice system, and more.

Here's the full list of shorts screening at Cinemalaya 2025.

• Ascension From the Office Cubicle — dir. Hannah Silvestre | Drama, Comedy
• Figat — dir. Handiong Kapuno | Drama
• Hasang — dir. Daniel De La Cruz | Comedy, Fantasy, Absurdist
• I'm Best Left Inside My Head — dir. Elian Idioma | Comedy, Animation
• Kay Basta Angkarabo Yay Bagay Ibat Langit — dir. Maria Estela Paiso | Docu-Drama, Comedy, Mixed Media
• Kung Tugnaw ang Kaidalman Sang Lawod — dir. Seth Andrew Blanca | Drama, Horror
• Please Keep this Copy — dir. Miguel Lorenzo Peralta | Documentary, Experimental
• Radikals — dir. Alvin Belarmino | Drama, Absurdist
• The Next 24 Hours — dir. Carl Papa | Drama, Animation
• Water Sports — dir. Whammy Alcazaren | Romance, Comedy

Cinemalaya 2025 — Other sections & programs

In addition to its feature length and short film competition categories, Cinemalaya also programs CCP's Gawad Alternatibo, an independent film competition citing the best works of Pinoy filmmakers in four categories – Animation, Experimental, Documentary, and Short Feature.

No word yet on the full list of entries, but this year's theme has been announced — "pasiklab," which means to ignite. No word, too, on any exhibition categories this year.

When and where to watch Cinemalaya films

Since the Cultural Center of the Philippines, which has long served as home for the previous iterations of Cinemalaya, is under renovation, this year's festival is going to headquarter at the Red Carpet Cinema in Shangri-La Plaza in Mandaluyong City. Screenings will also be available in Ayala Cinemas and Gateway Cineplex 18.

Cinemalaya 2025 is happening on October 3rd to 12th, 2025.

Screening schedules

No screening schedules have been announced as of press time, but we will update this article when that announcement happens.

Ticket information

As of writing this article, Cinemalaya hasn't announced any info on ticket pricing and availability. But per ush, we will update this article once this info becomes available.