Don't Miss Cinema One Originals Filmfest 2016 With 7 New Full Length Movies, 3 New Short Films & Several Award-Winning Foreign Films!

CINEMA ONE ORIGINALS Originals 2016 announces its seven Full Length Feature finalists. Cinema One top honcho Ronald Arguelles they only had seven films this time because they increased the seed money for each project. They now give P2 million per movie, making theirs the biggest grant in all local filmfests, including Cinemalaya, QCinema, Cine Filipino, To Farm and SinagMaynila festivals.

The first entry is “LILY” by Keith Deligero, a Cebuano filmmaker whose feature film debut, “Iskalawags”, a coming of age tale about young boys in Camotes Island. “Lily” is a horror flick about a popular urban legend in Cebu concerning a shape-shifter who sows fear in the populace, starring Shaina Magdayao, Rocky Salumbides with guest appearances of Lav Diaz and Eula Valdes.



Next is “EVERY ROOM IS A PLANET” by Malay Javier, a cinematographer whose directorial debut,”Hindi Sila Tatanda”, was a Cinema One Originals finalist in 2014. “Every Room” is a weird love affair between a mentally unstable girl who thinks her husband was abducted by aliens and her husband’s brother who‘s in love with her. Starring Rap Fernandez, Valeen Montenegro and Antoinette Taus.


Third is “BAKA BUKAS PWEDE NA” by Samantha Lee. who has a degree in BA Film and AudioVisual Communications from the University of the Philippines. About a pretty millennial with commitment issues who is in love with her best friend, an upcoming movie star. Starring Jasmine Curtis Smith and Louise de los Reyes.



Fourth is “SI MAGDALOLA AT MGA GAGO” by Jules Katanyag, who works with GMA 7 as a television writer with 26 drama programs under his credit. This is about drug dealing, sex-starved goods who make a mistake of disturbing the peaceful life of a mangkukulam and her pretty apo who live in a remote mountain town. Starring Ricky Davao, Peewee O’Hara, Rhen Escano, Gio Gahol.

Fifth is “MALINAK LA'Y LABI (Silent Night)” by Jose Abdel Langit, who has been working as an assistant director for television and films for 14 years. His movie is filmed using the Pangasinan dialect and is about a town that discovers the body of a young boy during their town fiesta, leading to a series of deaths. Starring Allen Dizon, Angeline Quinto, Richard Quan, Dexter Doria, Althea Vega, Marcus Madrigal and Menggie Cobarrubias.


Sixth is “2COOL2B4GOTTEN” by Petersen Vargas, an award-winning short filmmaker. His bittersweet short gay feature, “Lisyun qng geografia”, won him Best Director in the Cinemalaya Film Festival in 2015. “Dos Mestizos”, written by Jason Paul Laxamana, will be his feature film debut. It’s about a lonely teenage boy whose life changes with his half American brothers arrive and gets him entangled in their dark plans. Starring Khalil Ramos, Ethan Salvador, Jameson Blake of PBB, Jomari Angeles and Ana Capri.

Last is “TISAY” by Alfonso Torre, a critically acclaimed short filmmaker who won Cinema One Best Director for his debut full length feature, “Kabisera”, in 2013. This is about the world of semi-professional basketball where a beautiful bookie recruits a naive but promising player into the underworld of game-fixing. Starring Nathalie Hart in the title role, with JC de Vera, Joel Torre and Gerhard Acao.

There are also three documentary feature finalists: “Diary of Vietnam Rose (People Power Bombshell)” by John Torres, “Piding” by Paolo Picones and Gym Lumbera, and “Forbidden Memory” by Teng Mangansakan. Also to be shown are acclaimed foreign films lik “Stack Bay”, “I, Daniel Blake”, “De Palma”, “The Wailing”, “Creepy”, “It’s Only the End of the World”, plus “Babaeng Humayo”, and restored versions of “3 Taong Walang Diyos”, “Nagalit ang Buwan sa Haba ng Gabi”, “Pagdating sa Dulo”. CInema One Originals runs from November 14 to 22 at Trinoma, Glorietta, Gateway, Greenhills and Cinematheque.