Cinemalaya 2025: What you need to know about tickets, screening schedules, and more
It's one of the most exciting times of the year for Filipino cinephiles! The waves of Filipino storytelling are crashing in with the Cinemalaya Film Festival happening this October.
With the theme "Layag: sa Alon, Hangin at Unós," this year’s festival promises a bold lineup of 10 full-length films and 10 shorts that dive deep into the heart of Philippine narratives, from haunting reenactments and queer love stories to tales of resistance, justice, and identity.
Whether you’re a cinephile or simply craving stories that speak to the soul, here’s everything you need to know to navigate this year’s film festival.
Where to watch Cinemalaya films
Cinemalaya 21 is screening its 10 films at three different cinemas: Shangri-La Plaza from Oct. 3 to 12, Gateway Mall from Oct. 4 to 12, and Ayala Malls Cinemas in Manila Bay, Market! Market!, Circuit, and U.P. Town Center from Oct. 4 to 12.
Check out the full screening schedule for each venue below.
Shangri-La Plaza
Gateway Mall
Ayala Malls Cinemas
Tickets and Festival Passes
Regular tickets are priced at P350, with student rates at P250. Senior citizens, PWDs, government and military personnel, and national athletes enjoy 20% off on tickets. Pro tip: Bring your valid ID to snag those discounts.
You can purchase your tickets online for the Shangri-La Plaza screenings via redcarpetattheshang.com (Red Carpet account needed). Gateway and Ayala Malls ticketing details will follow soon.
For the ultimate Cinemalaya experience, a Festival Pass is available for P3,500. It covers all 10 full-length films and 10 shorts competing this year.
Passes are available at the Cultural Center of the Philippines from Sept. 30 to Oct. 2 and at Shangri-La Plaza from Oct. 3 to 11, with payment options including cash, credit card, and GCash. To apply, download the Festival Pass form here.
What’s screening?
This year’s Cinemalaya festival features 10 full-length films and 10 shorts showcasing a raw and resonant slice of Filipino life. Here’s a peek at the full-length finalists, according to each film’s official logline:
Bloom Where You Are Planted (Noni Abao)
Three land rights activists contend with their volatile notions of home amid terror and red-tagging in Cagayan Valley.
Child No. 82 (Tim Rone Villanueva)
At a wake, a persevering high school student must prove that he is the 82nd child of the Philippines’ biggest action-fantasy movie star in the hopes of seeing his late father one last time.
Cinemartyrs (Sari Dalena)
Recreating forgotten massacres from Philippine history, a young filmmaker begins shooting at a site where 1,000 men, women, and children were slaughtered. But the angry spirits are awakened and the lives of her team and the local villagers are put in peril.
Habang Nilalamon ng Hydra ang Kasaysayan (Dustin Celestino)
Four Filipinos confront the slow erasure of memory and truth in a country devoured by disinformation.
Open Endings (Nigel Santos)
Four queer women in their 30s who are exes-turned-best-friends navigate adulthood, love, friendship, chosen families, and everything in between.
Padamlágan (Jenn Romano)
Five days before the proclamation of Martial Law, the Colgante Bridge collapsed in Naga, forcing a father into a desperate search for his missing son.
Paglilitis (Cheska Marfori)
Years after experiencing sexual harassment at her workplace, a former executive assistant is persuaded by a passionate lawyer to file a case against her rich and highly respected boss.
Raging (Ryan Machado)
A young man’s quest for truth and justice intertwines with a plane crash mystery, uncovering a sinister plot that propels his desire to be heard but also threatens his community.
Republika ng Pipolipinas (Renei Dimla)
When the local government threatens to evict her from her own land, a farmer renounces her Filipino citizenship and builds her own micronation.
Warla (Kevin Alambra)
Kitkat, a 19-year-old transgender woman, finds the family she’s been longing for in a gang of sisters who kidnap foreign men to fund their gender-affirming surgeries, until their crimes force her to question the true cost of belonging.
The festival is also set to screen 10 short films: Ascension from the Office Cubicle, Figat, Hasang, I’m Best Left Inside My Head, Kay Basta Angkarabo Yay Bagay Ibat Ha Langit, Kung Tugnaw Ang Kaidalman Sang Lawod, Please Keep This Copy, Radikals, The Next 24 Hours, and Water Sports.
