Notable Cinemalaya films to screen in three jails

In celebration of National Women’s Month, the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) mounts Lakbay Sine Para sa mga Inday, special online screenings of selected award-winning films from Cinemalaya: Philippine Independent Film Festival for women deprived of liberty (WDL) in three jails in Iloilo City, Pototan in Iloilo and Bacolod City in Negros Occidental, every Sunday and Monday of March.

Bringing the stories inside to shed light on the lived experiences of incarcerated women, this program hopes to unite artists beyond prison walls through a series of online film screenings and talkbacks involving over 500 detainees in Iloilo City District Jail Female Dormitory, Iloilo District Jail Female Dormitory in Pototan and Metro Bacolod District Jail Female Dormitory. This cultural caregiving initiative directly addresses the needs of some of the most underserved women artists behind bars — persons/women deprived of liberty — who often remain invisible, voiceless, powerless and marginalized.

Set to be screened are the following Cinemalaya films about women and for women: Sanglaan by Milo Sogueco, Mayohan by Dan Villegas and Paul Santa Ana, Balota by Kip Oebanda, The Baseball Player by Carlo Obispo, Pan de Salawal by Che Espiritu, Utwas and Mga Handum nga Nasulat sa Baras by Arlie Sweet Sumagaysay and Richard Jeroui Salvadico, and Primetime Mother by Sonny Calvento.

The screenings are on 9, 16, 23 and 30 March, 9 to 11 a.m., in Iloilo; and on 10, 17, 24 and 31 March, 2 to 4 p.m., in Bacolod City.

The full-length film Sanglaan looks at seemingly simple relationships and uncomplicated events happening in a very mundane institution through a variety of characters. This light, funny, poignant and very Pinoy story about hope and redemption won Balanghai trophies for Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress at the 2009 Cinemalaya Film Festival, as well as the INALCO Jury Award at the Vesoul Asian Film Festival.

Set in Infanta, Quezon where locals celebrate the good harvest and pay tribute to Virgin Mary every 31 May, Mayohan follows the story of a 15-year-old young man and a 19-year-old provincial lass who become entangled in an unlikely partnership, each in their own search for growth and acceptance. The film bagged four Balanghai trophies (Best Actress, Best Screenplay, Best Cinematography and Best Original Music Score for the New Breed category) at the Cinemalaya in 2010.

In Balota, a teacher pays an increasingly steep price for defending the democratic process of the election. The film won numerous accolades for Marian Rivera’s performance at the 2024 Cinemalaya, Rising Filipino Awards, 2024 TAG Victorious Awards Chicago, and 4th Primetime Media Choice Awards.

The Baseball Player centers around a 17-year-old Moro child soldier whose father was killed in a war in 2000. He dreams to live a different life and become a baseball player. Unfortunately, another war against Moro rebels breaks out in 2003, and he is confronted with making a choice between pursuing his dream or fighting in the war. The film won four Balanghai trophies for Best Film, Best Actor, Best Screenplay and Best Editing at the 2022 Cinemalaya.

In Pan de Salawal, protagonist Sal and his suffering neighbors — a trembling barber, a paralyzed dancer and a sick meat vendor — find hope in Aguy, a seven-year-old Visayan girl with a miraculous gift. She heals by inflicting pain, but despite her powers, she cannot cure Sal. As he weakens, Aguy faces a heartbreaking choice. To save him, she must hurt him in the worst way possible. The film won Best Director, Best Original Music Score, and three Special Jury Prizes for director Anna Francesca “Che” Espiritu and actors Miel Espinoza and Juan Miguel Emmanuel Salvado at the 2018 Cinemalaya.

Utwas is a short film about a boy who attains a deeper connection with the ocean as he learns to be one with it. It was a finalist at the 2019 Cinemalaya, and it won Best Picture, Best Cinematography and Best Direction at the 7th Cinekasimanwa: The Western Visayas Film Festival.

In Mga Handum nga Nasulat sa Baras, three young boys wake up to an announcement on a new educational system where parents must take an exam to determine whether they are fit to teach their children. Knowing that their parents are not as privileged and knowledgeable as they are, Makoy, Kaloy and Buknoy try their best to teach their parents what they need to know for their exam. The film depicts how parents become teachers to their children, and how children become teachers to their parents. The film won Best Short Film at the 2022 Cinemalaya.

Primetime Mother is a comedy-drama film about an exploitative TV game show’s audition process that tests a long-suffering mother’s fortitude and tenacity. It won two Balanghai trophies for Best Short Film and Best Screenplay at the 2024 Cinemalaya.

At the heart of this initiative is the understanding of fundamental human psychological needs particularly in vulnerable situations, as highlighted by Dr. Ma Lourdes “Honey” Carandang (Philippines’ foremost clinical psychologist, a National Scientist and founder of Mindfulness, Love and Compassion Institute for Psychological Services, Inc.). These include the need for self-expression, where the arts provide a crucial outlet, and the need for transcendence and beauty which foster faith and hope even in dire circumstances.

The special screening project is organized through the CCP Film, Broadcast and New Media Division and the Cultural Exchange Department, in partnership with Super Inday Prison Art Project, a CCP Kalinga ng Sining grantee.

The CCP Lakbay Sine is a film program that brings different film projects, such as the CCP Cine Icons, Cinemalaya, Gawad Alternatibo, to different regions, partner communities, organizations and campuses primarily to popularize the works of Filipino filmmakers and encourage film appreciation among the youth and the general public.

The prison arts program seeks to break through the boredom, hopelessness, darkness of anxiety and depression by offering spaces for artistic expression, healing, inspiration, and transformation. Through the power of cinema and storytelling, the value of expressive arts emerges — not only as a medium for pain to be transcended into beauty but also as a profound healing force for the self and the collective.