The breeding ground of independent filmmakers ‘Your films matter, your voices are heard, and your stories resonate with audiences near and far.’ On Aug. 8, the chairman of the Cinemalaya Foundation Inc.
Antonio “Tony Boy” Cojuangco and Film Development Council of the Philippines chairman and CEO Jose Javier Reyes gathered the Cinemalaya filmmakers from 2005 to the present to celebrate Cinemalaya’s 20th year. “Twenty years of Cinemalaya is something to be proud of,” said Cojuangco. “Not many businesses last that long.
” He is a staunch supporter of independent films, financing and giving seed money to aspiring filmmakers. Most established directors in film, television, and advertising industries started their careers in the Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival at the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP). The patron of the arts, who also chairs Ballet Philippines, Tanghalang Pilipino, and the Manila Symphony Orchestra Foundation, has an appeal to filmmakers.
“Although a lot of people are aware of Cinemalaya, it’s not available,” he said. He has been negotiating, trying to convince the filmmakers to allow Cinemalaya to put the films on a platform. “So that people who hear about Cinemalaya, they can access the films,” he said.
“Otherwise, it would be a once-a-year festival with good films, a lot of awards locally and abroad, but that’s it. A lot of people have come to me and said, ‘Where can we watch the films?’ I have no answer.�.