A Dipolog/Dumaguete drama has been selected as a finalist in the short film competition of the 22nd Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival, which runs from August 6 to 18 at Shangri-La Plaza Red Carpet Cinemas, Gateway Cineplex 18, and select Ayala Malls Cinemas in Metro Manila.
“Silkscreen,” a short film written, directed, edited, and co-produced by Zamboanga del Norte filmmaker and Silliman University political science major Rey Anthony Villaverde, made it to Cinemalaya 22 after having recently earned the Silver Award in the Narrative Category of the 6th Montañosa Film Festival.
The selection marks Villaverde’s second appearance on the Cinemalaya stage, following his 2024 metacinema comedy “Ambot Wa Ko Kabalo Unsay I-Title Ani.” He debuted at Cinema Rehiyon 15 with his short film “Tingog” in 2022.
Starring Justine Lawrence Lopez with Nonoy and Mariel Barbaso, the film introduces viewers to Roy, a young T-shirt silkscreen printer working against the clock inside an old studio. While buried under a mountain of rush orders to keep his family’s business afloat, he is forced to reconnect with his aging father, the shop’s original owner, and face the quiet distance that time and changing times have carved between them.
For Villaverde, the film’s narrative is deeply autobiographical. Raised inside his family’s printing shop, his childhood was defined by the scent of fresh ink, the sound of machinery, and the steady flow of newly printed garments.
“At the center of Silkscreen is Roy, a character that mirrors my own quiet conflict. As the only son, I have often found myself standing between two paths, to continue what my parents have tirelessly built with their hands, or to step away and build something of my own,” Villaverde revealed.
Beyond exploring filial duty and personal ambition, the short film serves as an archive for artisanal trade. Villaverde aims to highlight manual crafts that are rapidly being displaced by modern algorithms and automation, by capturing the physical labor, ink-stained tables, and repetitive gestures of screen printing.
“Through cinema, I wanted to preserve that kind of labor, the kind that once shaped our everyday lives and quietly held communities together. This film is my way of honoring work and the dignity embedded in every craft shaped by human hands. The ink-stained tables, the repeated motions of silkscreen, the quiet rhythm of printing, they all carry stories. And I believe those stories deserve to be seen and valued,” Villaverde added.
Supported by creative producer Zig Dulay, “Silkscreen” asks a lingering question, “Is there still more to life when you’ve lived every second of it in survival mode?”
As Villaverde’s second short work which made it to Cinemalaya, “Silkscreen” continues to honor regional storytelling and preserve the dignity of human labor through film. — Seymour Sanchez
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