The 22nd Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival lived up to its number with not one, but two ties during its awards ceremony on Monday, Aug. 17, at the Shangri-La Plaza Grand Atrium.
Four nominees shared wins across two acting categories, with veteran actress Ruby Ruiz and comedienne Pokwang making history after jointly taking home the Best Actress award.
Pokwang, whose real name is Marietta Subong, was recognized for her powerful performance in “2 Valid IDs,” where she played Sylvia, a farmer who struggles to claim a remittance due to a lack of required documents.
“After 10 years, yung una ko sa Cinemalaya, ito na ako. Nagpapasalamat ako sa Cinemalaya, sa co-actors ko. Sa lahat ng nanood, alam ko mahirap ang buhay ngayon pero sinupportahan niyo. Bangon, industriya! Kaya natin ’to! Kaya ng Pilipino. Sa lahat ng may pinagdadaanan, huwag kayo mawalan ng pag-asa. Laban lang,” Pokwang said during her acceptance speech.
Ruiz, meanwhile, earned the same honor for her performance in “Status: Rejected”, as Virginia “Biring” Divinagracia, a senior citizen who faces difficulties reuniting with her son in the U.S., after multiple visa rejections.
The win marks Ruiz’s second Best Actress recognition at Cinemalaya following her victory for the titular role in “Iska” in 2019. It also brings her total number of Balanghai acting trophies to four.
“Status: Accepted! Salamat! Wala ako pinrepare. Alam ko sa Cinemalaya, maraming surprises. Kakaiba ang Cinemalaya, kaya pag nabigyan ka ng Balangay, talagang pahahalagahan mo… Sobrang karangalan ito,” Ruiz said in her acceptance speech.
It was in 2024 when actresses Marian Rivera and Gabby Padilla shared the same award for the first time for their respective roles in “Balota” and “Kono Basho”.
“2 Valid IDs” also received the Special Jury Award and Audience Choice Award, while “Status: Rejected” took home the NETPAC Award from the Network for the Promotion of Asian Cinema.
The festival also saw another tie, this time between child stars KD Omalin and Lucas Andalio who both received the “Best Supporting Actor” award.
Omalin was recognized for his performance in “Hand of God,” while Andalio earned the acting honor for his role in “Mag-iina.”
“Mag-iina,” which also stars Janine Gutierrez, Cherry Pie Picache, Agot Isidro, Ness Roque, and Jackie Lou Blanco, emerged as one of the night’s biggest winners with four additional awards.
The film took home Best Full Length Feature, Best Original Musical Scoring, Best Production Design, and Best Director for Giancarlo Abrahan.
Meanwhile, “Tayo Lang Ang Nakakaalam” also earned four awards, including Best Sound, Best Cinematography, Best Ensemble, and Best Actor for Martin del Rosario.
See the full list of winners for this year’s Cinemalaya:
– Best Full-length Feature: Mag-iina (Giancarlo Abrahan and Guelan Varela-Luarca)
– Best Performance of a Leading Actress: Marietta “Pokwang” Subong for 2 Valid IDs and Ruby Ruiz for Status: Rejected
– Best Performance of a Leading Actor: Martin Del Rosario for Tayo Lang Ang Nakakaalam
– Best Director (Full-length): Giancarlo Abrahan for Mag-iina
– Best Director in the (Short Film): Gabriela Serrano for Elenita Elena Elaine
– Best Director in the (Full-length): Giancarlo Abrahan for Mag-iina
– Best Short Film of Cinemalaya 2026: Silkscreen by Rey Anthony Villaverde
– Best Production Design: Katrish Aristoki for Mag-iina
– Best Original Musical Scoring: David Yuhico for Mag-iina
– Best Sound Design: Elian Idioma for Tayo Lang Ang Nakakaalam
– The Best Editing Award: John Rogers for A.ni.mal
– Best Cinematography: Adam Dumaguin for Tayo Lang ang Nakakalam
– Best Screenplay (Short Film): Lysa Catolico and Jazmine Gin R. Pateña for RUNO!
– Best Screenplay (Full-length): Guelan Varela-Luarca for Mag-iina
– Best Performance of a Supporting Actor: Lucas Andalio for Mag-iina and KD Omalin for Hand of God
– Best Performance of a Supporting Actress award: Bituin Escalante for A.ni.mál
– Best Ensemble Performance: Martin del Rosario, Miguel Ordon, Yayo Aguila, and Epy Quizon for Tayo Lang Ang Nakakaalam
– The Audience Choice Award for the Short Film category: Hoy! Hoy! Ingat!
– The Audience Choice Award for the Full-length feature: 2 Valid IDs
– The Netpac Award (Short Film): The River Flows in Different Places by Lot-Lot Hermosura
– The Netpac Award (Full-length): Status: Rejected by Vahn Leinard C. Pascual
– Special Jury Prize (Full-length Feature): 2 Valid IDs by Ma-an L. Asuncion-Dagñalan, DGPI and Abet Pagdagdagan Raz, FSG
– Special Jury Prize (Short Film): Para-Paraan by Mae Chan-li
