Cinemalaya 2026 is offering more than its main competition lineup, with short films, special screenings, book launches and other activities running alongside the festival’s 13-day program.
The 22nd edition of Cinemalaya runs from August 6 to 18 and includes the 38th Gawad CCP Para sa Alternatibong Pelikula at Video as part of its broader program.
Short films tell smaller, personal stories
The festival’s short-film competition features stories that explore family, disability, displacement, loss and survival.
Hoy, Hoy, Ingat! follows a child and his terminally ill brother as they attempt to recover their family’s jeepney.
In Para Paraan, the story focuses on the difficulties faced by a wheelchair user as he navigates everyday spaces.
The River Flows in Different Places follows two Filipino-Palestinian mothers who fled Gaza and are trying to rebuild their lives and sense of home in the Philippines.
Other short-film entries include Silkscreen, which centers on a printer reconnecting with his aging father, and Honey, My Love, So Sweet, set around a deteriorating cinema in Manila.
The lineup also includes Runo!, which follows a stray dog trying to find its owner after an apocalypse, and Sorbetes, about two brothers dealing with the aftermath of a traumatic experience.
Together, the short films give the festival room to tell stories that can be more intimate in scale while still dealing with issues affecting families and communities.
Opening and closing films
Cinemalaya 2026 opened with Enjoy Your Stay, directed by Honeylyn Joy Alipio and Dominik Locher.
The film follows Luz, an undocumented Filipina working at a luxury ski resort in Switzerland. It previously had its world premiere at the 2026 Berlin International Film Festival before its Philippine premiere at Cinemalaya.
Rafael Manuel’s Filipiñana will close this year’s festival.
The opening and closing films provide bookends to a program that brings together independent productions from Filipino filmmakers and stories set in different parts of the world.
Books on Philippine cinema
Cinemalaya is also featuring book launches as part of this year’s festival activities.
Among the books being launched are Sine. Film. Pelikula: The 100+ Greatest Films of Philippine Cinema by Jo-Ann Maglipon and Joel David, Trip to Quiapo Book 2 by National Artist Ricky Lee, and The Quiet Man: The Films of Mario O’Hara by Noel Vera.
The titles cover different aspects of Philippine filmmaking, from major works in the country’s cinema history to the writing and filmography of notable Filipino filmmakers.
With screenings, competitions, special presentations and literary activities, Cinemalaya 2026 continues until August 18, giving audiences several ways to engage with Philippine independent cinema beyond the main feature-film lineup.