A painting alumnus of the old College of Architecture and Fine Arts has made it to the lineup of Cinemalaya 2026.
Fresh from three Gawad Urian plums for his 2024 Cinemalaya entry “Alipato at Muog,” JL Burgos will be coming back to the film festival with “Ganggang,” one of the 2026 festival’s 10 full-length finalists.
“Ganggang” follows three young friends: a child of a desaparecido, a child of a poor farmer, and a child of a soldier. In their search for a spider, they must traverse various webs amid a conflict between armed forces.
This will serve as his debut full-length narrative film.
“Sa kanayunan, patuloy ang tunggalian ng gobyerno at ng mga nagrerebelde laban sa estado. Madalas, tinitingnan lamang ito bilang balita. Madalas ang panawagan nating kapayapaan ay nauuwi lamang sa panawagang pagbababa ng armas at hindi natutumbok ang ugat ng rebelyon,” Burgos told the Varsitarian.
“Masaya din dahil ang esensya ng Cinemalaya ay ‘yung pagbubuo ng komunidad, at sa muling pagsama ko, pakiramdam ko lumalaki ang aming komunidad… masaya dahil ang layunin naming makapagkwento ay mabibigyan ng espasyo sa isa sa pinakapremyadong piyesta ng pelikula,” he said.
Alongside 19 semi-finalists, Burgos underwent a film lab and mentorship program under director Carlitos Siguion-Reyna before his film was selected for the final lineup.
Finalists are entitled to a P1-million grant each from the Film Development Council of the Philippines.
All 10 full-length films will be screened from Aug. 7 to 16, 2026. David Nigel C. Cortes
