19th Cinemalaya Independent Film Festival

19th Cinemalaya Independent Film Festival
Opening filmWhere is the Lie? (Marupok AF) by Quark Henares
Closing filmThird World Romance by Dwein Baltazar
LocationMetro Manila, Philippines
Film titles20
Festival dateAugust 4, 2023 (2023-08-04)–August 13, 2023 (2023-08-13)
LanguageEnglish, Filipino, Hiligaynon, Ilocano, Romblomanon, Davaoeño, etc.
WebsiteOfficial Website
Cinemalaya chronology

The 19th Cinemalaya Independent Film Festival was held from August 4 – 13, 2023 in Metro Manila, Philippines with the theme being “IlumiNasyon” (illumination). A total of ten full-length features and ten short films competed.[1] The festival was opened by the film Where is the Lie? (Marupok AF) by Quark Henares and its closing film was Third World Romance by Dwein Baltazar.[2][3] This year, the festival proper was held at the Philippine International Convention Center instead of the Cultural Center of the Philippines, its annual venue, due to the latter being under renovation until 2025.[4][5][6]

During the press launch held on July 5, 2023, it was revealed by Cinemalaya Foundation president Laurice Guillen that each director in the feature-length category received a seed grant amounting to ₱2,000,000 (US$40,000~), the largest amount given in the history of the Festival. On the other hand, the finalists of the short film category received a total of ₱100,000 (US$1,785~) each for their finished films.[6]

  1. ^ "Cinemalaya 19 Finalists". Cinemalaya Foundation. August 10, 2023.
  2. ^ Iglesias, Iza (August 10, 2023). "Cinemalaya — lighting up screens anew for 19th edition".
  3. ^ "Dwein Baltazar's Third World Romance caps Cinemalaya 19". Manila Bulletin.
  4. ^ "There's no stopping Cinemalaya 19". The Manila Times. August 10, 2023.
  5. ^ "Cinemalaya 2023 announces list of full-length film finalists". Rappler. August 10, 2023.
  6. ^ a b "Cinemalaya 19 gives biggest seed grant in its history". ABS-CBN News. Retrieved August 10, 2023.