Tonight is another movie night.  But tonight's servings are not the usual movies we see on cinemas.  We will be watching a digital film from ABS CBN's Cinema One Originals Digital Film Festival.  



I'm not the type who watches Indie types.  Most of my friends and colleagues know that.  Mainly because I watch film because I want to enjoy and be entertained.  I want to see my movie complete and not the one that is so artistic that my analytic hormones are not enough to analyze it.  But Mr. Ronald Arguelles, Executive Producer of Cinema One Originals promises that this year, the movies chosen for the festival are light enough to be digested by average movie goers that don't have too complicated tastes on movies.  As a matter of fact this year, the movies featured on the festival runs within the bracket of Comedy, Romance, Horror and Fantasy genres breaking the traditional independent and digital movie plots.


Here are the 5 films chosen from over 100 entries this year.


Bala Bala is a mystery-fantasy that tells a tale of a young man named Frederick trapped on a mysterious town in Dagatan San Jose Batanggas after accidentally healing a sick girl from an epidemic.  Now  he is forced to stay and solve the mystery and came upon the shocking revelations that connects him to what is happening.


Directed Written by Melvin Brito, Starring Richard Quan, Glenda Ressureccion, Tom Olivar, Rold Marn Salamat and introducing Micah Munoz;  Bala Bala or "kunwari" in Batangueño, is a film that will indulge movie goers with enchantment and believe it or not special fx seldom seen on a local low budget fantasy film.


Maximus and Minimus is characterized as a "sweet comedy" and tells the story of "normality of abnormality" according to its lead cast Cai Cortez who plays the title Role Maximus.  The story more or less is a tale of "Excess and Shortcomings", ingredients in life to make it more meaningful and worth living.


Directed and written by Nap Jamir and Jimmy Flores, Starring Cai Cortez, Baron Geisler, Mikel Campos, Malou Crisologo, Kimmy Macatlang and Ms. Liza Lorena, Maximus Minimus promised that the film will make you laugh at the same time show the importance of having and not having things in life that makes somebody complete in any way.


Paano ko Sasabihin is a Romantic film about two people connected not by words but by hand gestures and sign language.   The film also tells a story where anything can happen without a certain outcome and people can get tangled on a circle of lies where everyone is a victim of their own pretense.


Directed by Richard Legaspi and starring the Katorse stars Erich Gonzales and Enchong Dee, Paano ko Sasabihin will surely make everyone fall in love with few words possible.


Si Baning, Si Maymay at ang Asong is Bobo is a children's flick created for adults that tells a story of a girl and her journey of discovering her first ABAKADA despite all the distractions adults around her make.


Directed by filmmaker Rommel ‘Milo’ Tolentino, it stars Rio Locsin, Geraldine Tan, Simon Ibarra, Gene Karley Largueza, Joanna Jean Evangelista and Jan Harley Hicana, Si Baning, Si Maymay at ang Asong si Bobo is a film adults must watch to learn a lesson or two from the innocent perspectives of the children.


And finally the last entry.  Wanted: Border is a Horror-Dark Comedy about people who seeks sanctuary on a boarding house owned by female land lady who live her whole life believing that horrifying things people say about her is true.  The trauma and social judgment to her had eventually turned her to something much more darker and her boarders starts to disappear one by one.


Directed by Ray Gibraltar, and starring Rosanna Roces, Kristoffer Rhys Grabato, Sunshine Teodoro, Marisol Alquizar, and Raffy Tejada,Wanted: Border is a horror flick at its finest as it shows how society itself can create a monster far more dangerous than creatures who only exists on our imaginations.

With this lineup, I would be happy to check out one or two films on the festival.  For now I can't judge the films yet till I see them but I think Cinema One Originals did a good job for having another year of Digital film festival and gave opportunity to this new film makers to showcase their talents and genius. 


The festival opens today November 13 and will run until November 17 at the Gateway Mall Cinema in Araneta Center Cubao.  Then the awards night for the festival will take place this Sunday, November 15 at the Dolphy Theater of ABS-CBN.