Conceptualized by its CEO and Founder Wilson Tieng with festival director Brillante Mendoza, Sinag Maynila aims to allow independent filmmakers hone their craft by submitting their materials for a full-length film for the public to see. For 2016, more than a hundred entries were submitted and only five films were chosen.
Sinag Maynila is the country’s newest independent film festival that showcases quality and thought-provoking movies from young, non-mainstream Filipino filmmakers.
Dyamper, a film by Mes De Guzman, it tells the story of three friends waiting along Dalton Pass every dawn to jump on the back of rice delivery trucks to steal the goods and sell it at the wet market as their means of income.
Expressway, a film by Ato Bautista, the film is about a syndicate old-timer named Ben who needs to do one last assignment before the boss he works for grants him his much-delayed retirement. For Ben, this last assignment turns out to be a journey of introspection, self-healing, and redemption.
Lila, a film by Gino M. Santos, tells the story of a young woman who moves into a house and finds a diary that belonged to an old tenant and would change her life.
Mrs., a film by Adolfo Alix Jr., it is about a 70-year-old who shares an old ancestral house with her loyal maid who is set to marry her long-time boyfriend. The maid then tells the 70-year-old that she wants to go home and start a family with him in the province. Still haunted by the disappearance of her only son, what follows shows a portrait of a woman and a mother trying to juggle the sad realities of life.
TPO, a film by Joselito Altarejos, it tells the story of Teresa who is a battered wife of Miguel. When their son gets hurt by her husband, she seeks a Temporary Protection Order against him. They then go through a long process of applying for the custody of their son on the town's most festive and busiest day. The narrative then repeats backward and reveals the truth behind the scenes that have yet to unfold.
The films are scheduled for screening on rotation basis daily from April 21 to 26, 2016 in a designated SM Cinema in SM Megamall, SM North Edsa, SM Manila, SM Mall of Asia and in SM Aura Premier, where the red-carpet opening ceremonies will be held.
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