The Market Monitor Minding the Nation's Business
by Boy Villasanta
If there’s one distinctive if not peculiar feature of this year’s Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival, it’s the ubiquitous presence of kids in the number of official entries, both in the Full-Length Features and Short Films.
They aren’t simply kids but highly exceptional children who can act before the movie cameras.
It was Cinemalaya Foundation President Laurice Guillen who recognized the importance of child stars in the 2026 Cinemalaya.
In hindsight, these children gave memorable imprints in the celebration of one of the most awaited film festivals in the Philippines.
In Guillen’s speech, she talked about the “confidence, commitment and presence” of child actors in lead and supporting roles in some of the movies shown in Cinemalaya 22.
Laurice said that some observers joked on naming the edition “CinemaBata.”
More than this, two child stars won major awards in the Full-Length Features.
It wasn’t simply the usual Best Child Actor award but a major acting prize.
Lucas Andalio for Giancarlo Abraham’s “Mag-iina” and K.D. Omalin for Mark Duane Angos’ “Hand of God” tied for the Best Supporting Actor award which highlighted excellence of youth talent.
Andalio was exceptional in “Mag-iina” as the only child actor in the family who played Ynigo, also spelled Yñigo or Ynigo III, an adopted and peculiar son of Ysobel portrayed by Cherry Pie Picache within the dysfunctional Abreu family.
The jury led by Filipino woman filmmaker Sari Dalena cited the young Andalio for “taking on a most complex role; for seamlessly navigating through intense, grotesque character shifts alongside seasoned co-stars; for instantly owning the screen, holding his own among an elite cast to pull off a jarring, grotesque transformation from innocent child to dark force that remains crucial to the film’s impact; and for an astonishingly mature performance for someone so young.”
On the other hand, K.D. was indispensable as the young child soldier of rebels in a remote village scarred by years of conflict who later finds unexpected refuge in football, but as hope for a different life grows, he must decide whether to follow the path laid out by war or choose a future of his own.
The 22nd Cinemalaya jury cited Omalin for “a deeply moving performance and extraordinary screen presence, for fully capturing the spirit of a young boy torn between conflict and hope, and for effectively rendering the sensibility of a Mindanao child soldier whose life transforms as he discovers a love and talent for football, giving powerful life to a dream of escaping violence for a brighter future.”
Bryce Nicolo Mercader and Dennis Dato starred in Alpha Habon’s “Kaka sa Yawan” were noticeable as the young versions of Niko and Ayan, the Manila boy and the Tadyawan-Mangyan who bonded one summer but years later, adult Niko returns to Mindoro to honor a promise.
Actor-children Raine Dela Cruz, Kenneth “Butchoy” Vincent Mendoza and Don Rishmond Cerbito breathed life to three boys who formed an unlikely bond to find the best fighting spider (a native game called ganggang) against the school bully’s spider played by Prince España, until the first three boys own search puts their friendship to a test in JL Burgos’ “Ganggang.”
In the Short Film section, Angelo Jhayriel Ancheta and John Benedict Sarte were memorable in Jennissie Gilbuena’s “Sorbetes.”
In Norvin de los Santos’ “Hoy, Hoy, Ingat!” child actress Alycia Avila who portrayed Baby was impressive as well as JT Trinidad’s “Honey, my Love, so Sweet”’s young cast members.