By: Jayar Gutierrez

It is a common activity for an individual to watch short videos on different social media platforms every day. We now have easy access to a lot of contents regarding the diverse topic that anyone could think of.

Last August 3, 2019, I was brought into a different view about film contents. I have attended for the very first time, the Cinemalaya which is being held every year. On its 15^th year today, a lot of film entries made it to the white screen and were given a chance to express the messages of every film filmmakers made. I didn’t expect that the first movie was intense and it literally made me burst into tears. That never happened to me inside a mall’s cinema while watching a movie with cliché lines and predictable endings. The title was so plain but the message and purpose were intense; subtly obvious but not directly stated. As I went out of that dark room, everyone was quiet, crying, disturbed while sinking in all realizations that the movie taught us.

As I continue watching the rest of the films that day, I get learnings from the significant substance that all the films have. I feel like I was being bombarded with gasps of reality through the characters’ personalities, lines I’ve read from the subtitles, and semiotics of the films’ entire composition.

The Cultural Center of the Philippines was surrounded not just by film enthusiasts, celebrities, guests and elegant decorations that day. It was also filled with emotions from each person that comes out of every cinema rooms inside.

It was different. It was unique. The experience I had was an experience I know that will never happen to me inside any other cinema watching movies purposely made to make money. It was a collecting realization activity that will never be done through watching online contents conceptualized mainly for entertainment. It was a different world being in that event and I would treasure that moment. That was an experience I would be thankful for.

Cinemalaya 2019 is a level-up world for people willing to see reality. May we support all the local films included in the event and keep focusing our eyes to see different views through these brilliant contents.