MANILA — “Streaming consciousness,” goes the theme of this year’s Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival, as it migrates its offerings online amid the coronavirus pandemic that continues to shutter physical cinemas.

Homes can be cinemas, too, organizers said during a recent media conference, detailing how Cinemalaya audience can access its 2020 edition.

Traditionally, the 16-year-old film festival is held at the Cultural Center of the Philippines Complex in Pasay City. This year marks the first time all its films will be “screened” via streaming.

To be held from August 7 to 16, Cinemalaya 2020 can be accessed through a dedicated channel on Vimeo on Demand. A minimum of P75 will fetch a bundle of five titles, while P350 will secure the entire library throughout the festival duration, organizers said.

Beyond the festival, select titles will be available on iWant and TFC.tv — a new distribution scheme that’s poised to bring Cinemalaya, which has been mostly accessible to Metro Manila moviegoers, to a national and international audience.

“In this way, even though we are charging much, much lower than what we might charge at a physical venue, hopefully the numbers exponentially increase because of the reach of these platforms,” festival director Chris Millado said.

On average, Cinemalaya is seen by some 50,000 moviegoers annually, according to Millado.

“We took that as our peg,” he said of the festival’s target online audience. “Kung online, either we reach the same viewers or maybe more, because we are looking at online and worldwide reach… Hopefully, we reach those same targets, if not, even exceed it.”

Another first this year is the main competition being comprised completely of short films (see below for the full list and trailers). Cinemalaya 2020 is highlighting the format in lieu of the traditional feature-length entries, which could not finish filming due to the pandemic.

Among the originally announced entries, only one completed principal photography, according to competition and monitoring head Jose Javier Reyes. Those feature-length projects will be carried over as finalists in the 2021 main competition, he said, bringing the tentative total to 18.

Aside from the 10 short finalists competing this year, 20 more short films will be exhibited. Cinemalaya had picked from over 240 submissions in the format, Reyes said.

“The selection this year was really so good,” the filmmaker explained. “It would be such a total waste if they were not given the recognition that they deserve.”

That Cinemalaya is being held online this year, Reyes pointed out, provides unlimited “cinemas” to accommodate significantly more films than the festival had ever managed in the past.

Cinemalaya 2020 is also offering a variety of sections and components, from alternative media to webinars.

Gawad CCP Para sa Alternatibong Pelikula will return with the theme “Ligalig,” presented as video games, animations, and documentaries, among others.

Cinemalaya Retrospectives will continue to offer memorable films from past editions, while a tribute to late film icons — actress Anita Linda and director Peque Gallaga — will include their respective works in the streaming library.

The ABS-CBN Film Restoration update of “Minsa’y May Isang Gamu-gamo” will likewise be exhibited, along with acclaimed regional films in the separate Visions of Asia section.

Scriptwriter Ricky Lee will conduct a scriptwriting masterclass, among other virtual workshops and online Q&A sessions with participating filmmakers.

The awards ceremony will be done entirely virtually, and streamed live on Kumu, organizers said.

“A brave new world,” was how Millado described migrating these numerous components of the festival online, after 16 years of holding them physically.

Organizers, he said, had to “learn overnight” the nitty-gritty of staging hundreds of hours of content on a streaming service, digital payment gateways, and the separate intellectual property rights for online presentations, among others.

Cinemalaya is at a “learning curve,” Millado added, as it embraces the new normal to continue being a venue for independent filmmaking for Filipinos not only in Manila, but now also overseas.

Here’s a look at the 10 short film finalists in the main competition:

1. ANG GASGAS NA PLAKA NI LOLO BERT (THE BROKEN VINYL RECORD) by Janina Gacosta and Cheska Marfori

2. ANG PAGPAKALMA SA UNOS (TO CALM THE PIG INSIDE) by Joanna Vasquez Arong

3. EXCUSE ME MISS, MISS, MISS by Sonny Calvento

4. FATIGUED by James Mayo

5. LIVING THINGS by Martika Ramirez Escobar

6. PABASA KAN PASYON by Hubert Tibi

7. TOKWIFI by Carla Pulido Ocampo

8. UTWAS (ARISE) by Richard Salvadico and Arlie Sweet Sumagaysay

9. THE SLUMS by Jan Andrei Cobey

10. QUING LALAM NING ALDO (UNDER THE SUN) by Reeden Fajardo