On the Manila leg of the “Tayo Na Tour,” Liza Soberano, H.E.R., and Januel Mercado brought DreamWorks’ Forgotten Island home—proving that untranslated Tagalog, 1990s nostalgia, and local mythology belong at the center of global cinema.
Weeks before Elijah Canlas opens as a martyred activist in “Edjop,” Regal cast him in a road trip comedy with JM Ibarra and Emilio Daez.
A fan-built database promised to make Cinemalaya more accessible. Filmmaker Dustin Celestino says it’s doing that by linking straight to pirated films.
Metro Manila has spent most of August under Habagat — the southwest monsoon that floods the city’s streets on a schedule closer to weekly than seasonal — and people have still been crossing town for Cinemalaya. The past week’s heavy weather hasn’t stopped Filipinos from flocking to malls and theaters for this year’s lineup, ticket-runs and all. That’s not a small detail for a festival built on films most of its audience had never heard of a month ago. Cinemalaya — the Cultural Center of the Philippines’ independent film festival, now in its 22nd year — is having its longest run ever this August: 13 days, August 6 to 18, up from its usual Friday-to-Sunday weekend format, screening nine full-length films and 10 shorts across Shangri-La Plaza, Ayala Malls, and Gateway Cineplex. The Balanghai Trophy — the festival’s award, named for the balangay, the plank-built outrigger boat early Filipino seafarers used to move between islands — goes out August 17. Results aren’t in yet as of this writing. [Update: See the results below]. That timing …
JoshLia is reuniting for a fifth film together. The announcement clip had barely finished playing before fans started calling out Star Cinema’s formula.
This year’s Cinemalaya bookends read like a matched pair: an undocumented Filipina scrubbing floors at a luxury Swiss ski resort, and a teenager racking golf balls at an elite Manila-adjacent country club. One end of the labor chain and the other, both getting the festival’s biggest slots. Pairing a previously-garlanded, non-competing film with the opening and closing nights is Cinemalaya tradition, not a 2026 innovation — 2018 opened with a mainstream Erik Matti thriller, 2015 opened with a film that had already played Cannes, and 2022’s opener, Leonor Will Never Die, had already won a Special Jury Award at Sundance before it played here — nearly the identical path Filipiñana just took. What’s sharper this time isn’t the structure. It’s the pairing itself: Enjoy Your Stay and Filipiñana sit at opposite ends of the same axis — who does the invisible labor, and who benefits from not noticing it — and both landed real hardware at Berlinale and Sundance doing it. Enjoy Your Stay, directed by Dominik Locher with a script by Honeylyn Joy Alipio, …
On Thursday, February 5, 2026, the gates of the MiraNila Heritage House will open for a singular evening where time, memory, and music converge. As the sun sets over this 1929 home, guests will wander through its halls, treated to an intimate house tour, and gather on the front lawn to witness a concert and cinema in lockstep — an experience like no other: Violinist Alessio Benvenuti — lauded as an “Artist of High National and International Value” Pianist Mariel Ilusorio — whose artistry has touched audiences across four continents Together, they will perform the music of Ennio and Andrea Morricone from the timeless film Cinema Paradiso — the Oscar-winning, Palme d’Or–honored masterpiece. After the movie, famed Italian director Giuseppe Tornatore will come on screen and address our MiraNila audience. This will definitely be a night of heritage, harmony, and the enduring magic of cinema. Early Bird Tickets: ₱1,000 (adults) | ₱800 (seniors & students with IDs) Prices increase after December 20! Regular Tickets: ₱1,200 (adults) | ₱1,000 (seniors & students with IDs) Book tickets …
For the first time in two or three years, we’re finally back to watching the Metro Manila Film Festival the way we used to. No shortcuts, no half-attending, no “maybe next year.” Just the familiar excitement of stepping into a cinema on a December night, lining up with families and barkadas, and immersing ourselves in Filipino stories during the holidays. And honestly — wala, ang sarap lang sa feeling. We missed this festival more than we realized. This year, MMFF welcomes us back with a lineup that feels different — not just bigger, but braver and more varied. ⸻ WHY THIS YEAR’S MMFF FEELS DIFFERENT If you’ve followed the festival over the years, you’ll notice right away: MMFF 2025 doesn’t look like the typical holiday lineup. This year feels like a reset. A recalibration. Maybe even a quiet revolution. Here’s why: 1. The Variety is Surprisingly Strong A queer parenthood comedy-drama, a representation-led film starring actors with Down syndrome, a 1969 period thriller, a future-set horror anthology, a legal drama about annulment, a Gen Z …
