The women of Cinemalaya

“I have watched only two full-length films in competition at the Cinemalaya film festival. Mag-iina and A.ni.mal. But I pity the jury. Because the actors are so good! How will you rate them? Halimaw! Lamon! (Powerhouse performances!)”

Thus wrote multi-awarded film director Dwein Baltazar in Filipino on her social media account on August 12. 

Mag-iina got the lion’s share of the Cinemalaya awards, including this year’s best film and outstanding direction, screenplay, production design, and musical score. A.ni.mal, on the other hand, received the Balanghai trophy for editing and supporting actress.

So many people who have been part of the independent film festival for many years as organizers, cast, and crew — and even the audience — have noted how excellent the films in this batch are.

But what’s truly worth noting are the outstanding performances by women.

Ruby Ruiz, Status: Rejected

Ruby Ruiz depicted the role of a lonely 69-year-old woman with an American dream in Status: Rejected. 

“Not much preparation needed for this role because Biring is pretty much like Ruby,” quipped the veteran actress, who shared the Cinemalaya 22 Best Actress honors with Marietta “Pokwang” Subong. 

“At 65, I realized that I yearn for more attention and affection from my children. When you feel that your relevance is diminishing, you amplify that to loneliness. I go through that now and am trying to cope with it.” 

This is her fourth Cinemalaya win, having won Best Actress for Iska in 2019, and Best Supporting Actress for Ekstra in 2013 and Ginhawa in 2022. 

“It was so much fun, and easy because [my co-actors were] all good, especially Alessandra de Rossi,” she replied. The other cast members are Beverly Salviejo and Yani Villarosa. 

Marietta ‘Pokwang’ Subong, 2 Valid IDs

Marietta “Pokwang” Subong starred in 2 Valid IDs as Sylvia, a woman desperate to obtain two identification cards to be able to claim a relative’s substantial remittance from overseas for her ailing husband Ramon (Joey Marquez). 

Pokwang, who shared Best Actress with Ruby Ruiz, dedicated her award to all the Sylvias  out there. 

“Sa lahat ng pinagdadanasan po ng mga Pilipino. ‘Wag kayong mawalan ng pag-asa. Laban lang!” Pokwang said during her acceptance speech.

(To all Filipinos who are going through hardships, never lose hope. Just keep fighting!)

Pokwang won her first Cinemalaya award 10 years ago for her performance in Mercury is Mine. 

“Alam ko mahirap ang buhay ngayon. Tipid-tipid. Pero andiyan kayo, sumusuporta. Pinatunayan ’nyong kaya natin ito. Bangon industriya. Kaya natin. Kaya ng Pilipino,” she said 

(I know times are really hard. We’re all trying to make ends meet. But here you are, supporting us by watching our movie. You proved that we can ride this out. Let’s uplift the film industry. We can do it. We, Filipinos, can do this.) 

Jackie Lou Blanco, Mag-iina

Jackie Lou Blanco, depicted the complicated and very difficult role of the matriarch of three generations of women “bound by grief, madness, and a dark family secret,” in the psychological horror film Mag-iina. 

Jackie Lou said Mag-iina came at the most demanding time of her career. Soon after finishing Anthropology for Barefoot Theatre Collaborative and the rerun of The Foxtrot, she multi-tasked a GMA teleserye and rehearsals for Virgin LabFest’s Lualhati while shooting Mag-iina. 

“For the role itself —I play a much, much older woman, something I’ve never done before — the preparation was both physical and emotional,” Jackie Lou  told Rappler.

“The prosthetics alone took hours and a lot of getting used to. Inaral ko talaga, dinama ko, ibinuhos ko lahat (I studied it thoroughly, felt it; gave it my all). I had to study not just how she moves and speaks, but how she carries a lifetime of being a mother. It was challenging, but so affirming.” 

The veteran actress is now in the thick of rehearsals for the Hotdog band tribute musical Bongga Ka ‘Day.

Bituin Escalante, A.ni.mal 

Interestingly, A.ni.mal was “written with each of the actors in mind,” revealed Cinemalaya 22 Best Supporting Actress Bituin Escalante. 

Of her role as Dr. Grace Reyes — wife of the incumbent governor, and herself an aspiring governor — Bituin said, “Doc Grace is a woman born into privilege. A daughter of self-made politicians. She does not have the charm and political gifts of her parents. She just barely qualified as a doctor and did not even practice. “

“She married a charming, popular student-athlete she dated in college to continue their political stronghold in local politics. She feels the governorship is owed her,” she added. 

To get into the role, “I had to find the whys for her actions by building a character profile; her history, her psychology and such. And all that lends to the approach to the script.” 

In the film, Bituin worked with her real-life husband Reymund Domingo. “If felt like a safe place to work with him,” she said. “The most natural thing. Even if we’ve never fought the way they did.” 

Maxine Ignacio, A.ni.mal 

The reel and real daughter of acclaimed actress Frances Makil-Ignacio, Maxine Ignacio is a BA Theatre Arts alum of UP Diliman. She depicts the role of nepo baby Lily, who is supposed to be an animal rights advocate. 

She had first read the role of Lily in a stage reading in 2024, and recalled having been “so excited to do it in whatever way, shape or form.”

“Lily is so complex and has so many layers,” Maxine said. 

In any role that she plays, her goal is “to find the truth about the character,” answering questions such as “Who am I? Where am I? What is my relationship to my scene partners? What do I want to achieve? What do I do to get what I want?” or, basically, a shortened version of Uta Hagen’s Nine Questions.

“I did my homework by always going back to the script. [I] took down all the notes Direk Dustin [Celestino] would give during rehearsals and try to interpret it the best that I could,” she said.

Although she has worked with her mom twice before, this is the first time Maxine performed with her in a film as she debuts on screen.

“She trusts me as her co-actor, and treats me as an equal.” 

Yayo Aguilla, Tayo Lang ang Nakakaalam

How did Yayo Aguilar prepare for the difficult role of the mom of an HIV positive patient (who also happens to be gay and have a partner) in Tayo Lang ang Nakakaalam?

“To establish the chemistry of the cast (Miguel Odron, Epy Quizon, and Martin del Rosario), we had a roundtable discussion, a script reading, and a look-test with our director (David Corpuz) and intimacy/acting coach the first time all four of us got together,” Yayo explained. 

“We discussed the story, and each and every character. We rehearsed a few sequences that were crucial to the film.”

“I had to immerse myself into the story,” said Yayo, who also shared she now has four adult children. “I had to put myself in the shoes of Gloria with a child (Bong) who is very, very ill, and he would be gone soon, and feel that he was really my son and not a fictional character.”

Yani Villarosa, Status: Rejected

Yani Villarosa said she’s happy and honored to have worked with the veteran actors on the set of Status: Rejected, including Ruby Ruiz and Alessandra de Rossi, as well as with “newer and younger collaborators.” 

“They were so generous. I learned so much just by being there,” shared Yani, who plays Sophia, the granddaughter of Ruby’s character. 

Yani thinks it’s important for a younger person to be included in the script (she is of the same age as director and screenwriter Vahn Leinard Pascual, 26), seeing people their age as witnesses to generational patterns or pain of previous generations. 

“Sophia is in that phase when she’s starting to understand the dynamics between her grandmother and mother, and this affects her as a person and as a woman,” she said.

Kat Hernandez, Para-paraan

Special Jury prize winner for the shorts category, Para-Paraan truly embodied the dictum of “show, don’t tell.” In it, we practically walk behind para powerlifter Katrina Hernandez, who goes around the metro using a wheelchair unaided as she ticks off three errands on her list. 

Kat has a non-progressive condition called arthrogryposis multiplex congenita (AMC), and it was a two-woman production team for Hernandez and director Mae Chan Li —  joint creators of Out of the Box, a platform “that uses storytelling, education, and public engagement to spark conversations about disability, accessibility and inclusion.” 

“Winning this award means a lot to me, not just as recognition for the film, but as an opportunity to spark conversations about disability, accessibility, and inclusion,” Kat said.

Alycia Avila, Hoy, Hoy, Ingat!

The youngest from this set of actresses is nine-year-old Alycia Avila of Hoy, Hoy, Ingat!, winner of the Audience Choice Award for Short Film.

Alycia, who plays the lead role Baby, was discovered by producer Alex Poblete while auditioning for the QCinema International Film Festival. 

A fifth grader in a Paco public school, Alycia said she had fun on the set. Her only difficulty, she shared, was learning “Bisakol” or the Masbateño iteration of Bisaya.

“During the script reading, Direk Norvin (de los Santos) taught me and kuya VR Relosa (her co-actor) how to pronounce the words and what to stress in the conversations in the film” she said in Filipino. “I really tried to learn it and memorize it.”