Cinemalaya 22 Opening and Closing Films Reflect the Diversity of Filipino Experiences

 

Enjoy your stay

For its 22nd edition, the Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival opens and closes with two internationally acclaimed independent films that reflect the complexity of Filipino experience: the opening film, Enjoy Your Stay, explores a mother's enduring love for her daughter, while the closing film, Filipiñana, follows a teenage girl whose job at a country club leads to unexpected discoveries.

Opening Film

Directed by Dominik Locher and Honee Alipio and co-produced by Close Up Films and JBA

Production, Enjoy Your Stay follows Luz, a Filipina who has spent years working as an undocumented cleaner in Switzerland. Living in the shadows alongside her friend Aileen and other Filipina migrant workers, she constantly faces the threat of being discovered and deported.

When she sees her ex-husband appear on a Filipino reality TV show with their six-year-old daughter, Luz’s life is shaken. In a desperate attempt to keep her child after years of working abroad, she promises on live television to return home in time for her daughter's birthday.

Looking at her savings and her ballooning debts, will she be able to secure her daughter's future? Racing against time, Luz is forced to find ways to earn money even if it means betraying her community and crossing her own moral boundaries. Actress Mercedes Cabral headlines Enjoy Your Stay, alongside acclaimed Filipino actresses Anna Luna, Hasmine Killip, Irma Adlawan, Donna Cariaga, and Madeleine Nicolas.

Enjoy Your Stay had its world premiere in the Panorama section of the 76th Berlin International Film Festival in Germany on February 14, 2026.

The opening film will be screened free to the public on August 6 (Thursday), at 7:30 p.m. at Red Carpet Cinemas 1 and 2, Shangri-La Plaza.

Closing Film

Filipiñana tells the story of Isabel, played by Jorrybell Agoto, a teenage employee at an exclusive country club who finds herself drawn to its president, Dr. Palanca, played by Teroy Guzman. But as Isabel begins to uncover the violence hidden beneath the country club’s pristine facade, she realizes that what started as an innocent infatuation is rooted in a far more sinister shared history.

Filipiniana

Directed by Rafael Manuel, Filipiñana is a feature-length expansion of his acclaimed 2020 short film of the same title. The film had its world premiere in the World Cinema Dramatic Competition at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival in January 2026.

As the closing film of the 22nd Cinemalaya Independent Film Festival, Filipiñana will be screened on August 16, 2026, at 8:30 p.m. at Red Carpet Cinemas 1 and 2, Shangri-La Plaza. Tickets are priced at ₱350 for regular admission and ₱250 for students.

Reel Reflections

Anchored on the theme “Cinemalaya 22: Reel Reflections,” the festival's opening and closing films embody the spirit of this year’s edition by telling stories that reflect the realities, struggles, and triumphs of women and the communities they belong to.

Tickets to the opening and closing film screenings will be given on a first-come, first-served basis two hours before the screening schedule.

For more information, visit the CCP website (www.culturalcenter.gov.ph) and the Cinemalaya

website (www.cinemalaya.org). Follow the official CCP and Cinemalaya Facebook pages and other social media accounts on X, Instagram, and TikTok.

Japanese Film Festival 2023 brings back its onsite screenings

 

The Japan Foundation, Manila is bringing back the on-site screenings of its cherished film festival, the Japanese Film Festival (JFF), featuring 10 award-winning and must-see full-length films, from January 20 to February 22, 2023, in a number of locations throughout the Philippines, after two online editions due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Japan Film Festival, one of the biggest and most well-known film festivals in the nation that draws over 25,000 spectators each year, begins its on-site screenings on January 22 and runs through February 3 at the Red Carpet Theatre in Shangri-la Plaza in Mandaluyong City.

From January 27 to January 31, 2023, it will be shown simultaneously at SM City Baguio, SM Seaside Cebu, and SM City Davao; on January 28 and 29, it will be shown at Cinematheque Manila, Cinematheque Negros, Cinematheque Iloilo, Cinematheque Davao, and Cinematheque Nabunturan; and on January 30, it will be shown at UP Cine Adarna from February 17 to 22 in Quezon City.

Pacific Alliance Movie Nights at The Shangri-La Plaza: Free Movie screening from Sept. 21-25!

 

Filipinos have of course long been exposed to mainstream Hollywood productions, but film is not limited to global releases and big-name-led blockbusters. There are many more gems from different parts of the world that widen one’s perspective and tell insightful and poignant stories that resonate with the rest of us - truly proving that films cut across borders and boundaries.

Shangri-La Plaza, a strong supporter of the cinematic arts, is bringing a new film festival to the metro. For the first time, it is hosting the Pacific Alliance Movie Nights, in partnership with the Embassies of Chile, Colombia, Mexico, and Singapore in the Philippines and the Film Development Council of the Philippines, screening for free at the Red Carpet at the Shang on September 21-25.

FREE Movies at the Cine Mexico at Shangri-La Plaza’s Red Carpet Theater

Cine Mexico at the Red Carpet of the Shangri-La Plaza Mall

Back in the 90’s, I guess we’ve all been guilty at some point in our lives of being hooked to poignant Mexican telenovelas or soap operas. If you weren’t into that, then perhaps you must’ve enjoyed at least any delicious Mexican food or you must’ve been a beauty pageant fanatic who would always look for  Mexico’s representative with much anticipation. But have you ever tried watching any Mexican film? In the recent years, two of the five Best Picture winners at the much-acclaimed award-giving body Oscars have been films by Mexican directors—Alejandro Inarritu’s Birdman and Guillermo del Toro’s The Shape of Water. I was able to see The Shape of Water and it was indeed one of the greatest Mexican films I had ever seen. There were unexpected twists on the said movie’s ending which gave audiences something to think about as they left the cinema. Such films along with Alfonso Cuaron’s Roma which recently received accolades helped put Mexico’s reputation for contemporary cinema.

Now here’s the good news for everyone, you too can watch and see Mexican films for FREE this coming Cine Mexico which will be happening from September 20 until 24, 2019 at the Red Carpet Theater Cinema 4 of the Shangri-La Plaza Mall in Mandaluyong City. This is in partnership with the Embassy of Mexico in Manila and the Film Development Council of the Philippines.

Shangri-La Plaza’s Red Carpet Cinema Redefines the Movie Theater Experience

The newly renovated Red Carpet Cinema of Shangri-La Mall

We’ve just checked out the newly renovated high tech cinema at the Shangri-La Plaza Mall’s Red Carpet Cinema. And I was instantly impressed about all the changes I’ve seen at its Premiere Theater. We were recently treated to see Marvel Studios ’first female-led superhero film, the highly anticipated Captain Marvel. It was a great way to celebrate the International Women’s Month, highlighting “girlpower” at its finest.

Captain Marvel Red Carpet Ticket to the Premier Theater

The best part about watching movies is that they transport you to another world, or another dimension.  Shang-La Plaza Mall’s Red Carpet Cinema lets you experience the film firsthand. Red Carpet Cinema boasts of powerful speakers throughout the cinema, digital projection equipment and stadium type seating.  Best of all, the cinema houses about 70 comfortable leather recliners that come in Lazy Boy style chairs with a convenient place for your drink. The Red Carpet Cinema also has more comfortable leg room. The Red Carpet Cinema also features an adjoining bar and lounge facility, making it a perfect venue for exclusive parties, events, and other VIP affairs.

The spacious lounge of the VIP Red Carpet Premiere Theater

More comfy chairs while waiting for the movie