For its 22nd edition, the Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival opens and closes with two internationally acclaimed independent films that reflect the complexity of Filipino experience: the opening film, Enjoy Your Stay, explores a mother’s enduring love for her daughter, while the closing film, Filipiñana, follows a teenage girl whose job at a country club leads to unexpected discoveries.
Opening Film
Directed by Dominik Locher and Honee Alipio and co-produced by Close Up Films and JBA Production, Enjoy Your Stay follows Luz, a Filipina who has spent years working as an undocumented cleaner in Switzerland. Living in the shadows alongside her friend Aileen and other Filipina migrant workers, she constantly faces the threat of being discovered and deported.
When she sees her ex-husband appear on a Filipino reality TV show with their six-year-old daughter, Luz’s life is shaken. In desperation to keep her child after years of working abroad, she promises on live television to return home in time for her daughter’s birthday.
Looking at her savings and her ballooning debts, will she be able to secure her daughter’s future? Racing against time, Luz is forced to find ways to earn money even if it means betraying her community and crossing her own moral boundaries.
Actress Mercedes Cabral headlines Enjoy Your Stay, alongside acclaimed Filipino actresses Anna Luna, Hasmine Killip, Irma Adlawan, Donna Cariaga, and Madeleine Nicolas.
Enjoy Your Stayhad its world premiere in the Panorama section of the 76th Berlin International Film Festival in Germany on February 14, 2026.
The opening film will be screened free to the public on August 6 (Thursday), at 7:30 p.m. at Red Carpet Cinemas 1 and 2, Shangri-La Plaza.
Closing Film
Filipiñana tells the story of Isabel, played by Jorrybell Agoto, a teenage employee at an exclusive country club who finds herself drawn to its president, Dr. Palanca, played by Teroy Guzman. But as Isabel begins to uncover the violence hidden beneath the country club’s pristine facade, she realizes that what started as an innocent infatuation is rooted in a far more sinister shared history.
Directed by Rafael Manuel, Filipiñana is a feature-length expansion of his acclaimed 2020 short film of the same title. The film had its world premiere in the World Cinema Dramatic Competition at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival in January 2026.
As the closing film of the 22nd Cinemalaya Independent Film Festival, Filipiñana will be screened on August 16, 2026, at 8:30 p.m. at Red Carpet Cinemas 1 and 2, Shangri-La Plaza. Tickets are priced at ₱350 for regular admission and ₱250 for students.
Reel Reflections
Anchored on the theme “Cinemalaya 22: Reel Reflections,” the festival’s opening and closing films embody the spirit of this year’s edition by telling stories that reflect the realities, struggles, and triumphs of women and the communities they belong to.
Tickets to the opening screening will be given on a first-come, first-served basis two hours before the screening schedule. For details on ticket sales for the closing film, please stay tuned to the official Cinemalaya social media pages for updates.
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