Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival
The Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival is a film festival in the Philippines held annually during the months of July and August at the Cultural Center of the Philippines. Its aim is the development and promotion of Filipino independent films. The film festival is organized by the Cinemalaya Foundation, with the support of the Cultural Center of the Philippines and Econolink Investments, Inc.
Each year, the Festival provides "seed investments" of ₱500,000 (US$10,000~) to ten independent filmmakers. These ten "finalists" are culled from hundreds of submissions from all over the Philippines. Their films debut at the festival, together with in-competition short films, as well as various out-of-competition works.
The festival organizing committee is headed by veteran Filipino director and actress Laurice Guillen. The committee oversees the production of the films, sometimes interfering with filmmakers' artistic decisions. The current 11th edition of the festival was held from August 7–15, 2015 in Metro Manila, Philippines.