Kuwentong Peyups
Atty. Dennis Gorecho
Women power in Cinemalaya 2025
The 21st Cinemalaya Independent Film Festival ended with emphasis on women empowerment in the film industry.
Sari Dalena of “Cinemartyrs” delivered an inspiring speech about discrimination against women in film as she received the Best Director, Best Original Musical Score and the Special Jury Prize .
“Para sa lahat ng babaeng pinahiya, tinapakan, pinauwi, binastos, na hindi pinapahalagahan o minamaliit, narito tayo — lalaban tayo. Lahat ng hadlang at barrier, kayang-kaya natin lampasan at itapon sa basura. Kaya natin gumawa ng magandang pelikula, palakihin ang mga bata, at gamitin ang ating talento at sining upang ayusin ang sistema laban sa korupsyon.” Dalena said.
Dalena was cited as Best Director for “her bold and visionary authorship that fuses cinema, history, and haunting memory into a singular act of resistance; for reclaiming women’s voices within the nation’s buried traumas through guerrilla filmmaking that is both mystical and political.”
A film professor at the University iof the Philippines, Dalena urged fellow female filmmakers to use their talents to pay tribute to pioneers like Carmen Concha, Susana de Guzman, and Ating Osorio : “ Kung hindi dahil sa kanila na nagbigay daan sa atin. wala tayo ngayon dito! ”
The Best Film “Bloom Where You Are Planted” directed by Noni Abao narrated the story of three land rights activists in Cagayan Valley, two of them women: Agnes Mesina (a development worker), Amanda Echanis (a jailed mother-artist-activist), and Randy Malayo (a slain peace consultant). It also won Best Editing.
The film was cited for “its powerful and deeply humane portrayal of political activists uprooted by violence yet steadfast in their pursuit of justice and belonging; for transforming the struggle for land, peace, and dignity in Cagayan Valley into a meditation on home, hope, and resilience.”
“Republika Ng Pipolipinas” by Renei Dimla received the NETPAC Best Full-Length Film award for “its powerful story about resistance, citizenship, and the search for belonging. The film stands out for its courage, creativity, and heart.”
The cast of “Open Endings” Jasmine Curtis-Smith, Janella Salvador, Klea Pineda, and Leanne Mamonong won Best Ensemble Performance. The film by Nigel Santos and Keavy Eunice Vicente was cited for “the seamless chemistry, emotional depth, and playful vitality of four performances that breathe life into a rare story of chosen family and intimacy; and for capturing with honesty, humor, and grace the enduring bonds between queer women navigating love, loss, and friendship.”
In 2012 , the Best Ensemble Performance went to Judy Ann Santos, Iza Calzado, Agot Isidro, and Janice de Belen for Mga Mumunting Lihim.
The Best Short Film “The Next 24 Hours” stars Christela Marquez as a girl grappling with the immediate aftermath of a sexual assault. It won for “its hauntingly tender portrayal of trauma and survival; for rendering silence, fear, and resilience through rotoscope animation with profound sensitivity and compassion; for using art as advocacy to give voice to those still struggling to speak.”
“Kay Basta Angkarabo Yay Bagay Ibat Ha Langit (Objects Do Not Randomly Fall From The Sky)” by Maria Estela Paiso won Special Jury Prize for short films. It was cited for “its fearless vision, poetic fury, and striking fusion of myth and memory; for transforming the West Philippine Sea’s wounds into a powerful cinematic allegory of sovereignty and rage.”
Mylene Dizon of “Habang Nilalamon ng Hydra ang Kasaysayan” won the Best Actress award for “her searing and compassionate portrayal of a daughter haunted by the sins of her father—a onetime enforcer of a brutal regime—yet bound to protect him in his frailty; for embodying a conscience torn between love, guilt, and moral reckoning.”
Rochelle Pangilinan of “Child No. 82 (Anak ni Boy Kana)” was cited Best Supporting Actress (was cited as Best Supporting Actress for “her restrained yet searing portrayal of a mother holding her dignity amid abandonment and illusion; for embodying both the ache of loss and the quiet strength of survival as she watches her son chase the myth of a father who was never there.”
In a cameo role in Cinemartyrs, Kidlat Tahimik talked about the inner “duwende” or the creative spirit within each person waiting to be unleashed.
For Dalena, the inner duwende is the reality that many women were not able to continue their film career due to misogyny and other form of sexism.
The duwende is symbolized by the scene Shirin was giving birth. It is the montage of women giving birth to a film – the unsung heroes – the writer, the director, the actress and all women who contributed their talent.
“Layag sa Alon, Hangin, at Unos” is this year’s theme reflecting the festival’s decades of weathering every storm of its era.
(Peyups is the moniker of the University of the Philippines. Atty. Dennis R. Gorecho heads the Seafarers’ Division of the Sapalo Velez Bundang Bulilan Law Offices. For comments, e-mail info@sapalovelez.com, or call 09175025808)
Photo of the cast and crew of Cinemartyrs led by Director Sari Dalena
