MANILA, Philippines—(UPDATE) Big names in the Philippine movie industry have joined the 2010 Cinemalaya Independent Film Competition and Festival.

This after organizers of the independent film festival added the Directors’ Showcase or Open category for filmmakers who have made at least three commercially-released full-length feature films.

“Given the same conditions and the same selection process for full-length feature films, we wanted to see what our veteran directors would produce,” said Laurice Guillen, vice president of the Cinemalaya Foundation Inc.

Of the 24 entries in the Open category, five made it to the final list. These are: Mario O’ Hara’s “Ang Paglilitis ni Bonifacio”, Mark Meily’s “Isang Pirasong Buhay”, Joselito Altarejos’ “Pink Halo-Halo”, Joel Lamangan’s “Sigwa” and Gil Portes’ “Two Funerals.”

Lamangan said the inclusion of the new category is a welcome development.

“Nagpapasalamat ako sa Cinemalaya sa pagbubukas ng kategoryang ito, kasi dito kami lahat ang nagdedecide at masasabi naming pelikula talaga namin ito,” said Lamangan.

But budget will be the greatest challenge for commercial filmmakers venturing into indies.

For Lamangan, who has directed 56 feature films, Cinemalaya will be a learning experience.

“Ang pagkasyahin ang maliit na budget ay isa sa mga training na gusto naming matutunan dito sa Cinemalaya dahil nagagawa naman ng mga kabataang director,” said Lamangan.

The five will each receive only a seed production grant of P500,000 from Grassroots Film Production and Distribution Inc. An additional P100,000 post production grant will also be given.

Portes said planning is the “secret to making ends meet.”

“From the day that you write the script, you already know in mind how much budget you have. Dapat talagang busisiin ang script,” said Portes, who directed the internationally-acclaimed films “Mga Munting Tinig” (Small Voices) 2002, “Gatas sa Dibdib ng Kaaway” (2001), and “Saranggola” (The Kite) 1999.

He said “Two Funerals” was a product of being caught in a monstrous traffic.

“When the Iglesia ni Cristo celebrated its anniversary, I was stuck in traffic for 20 hours. Instead of getting mad, I decided to write a story according to the news item that I read on a tabloid about a body which was accidentally switched,” said Portes.

The “Two Funerals” tells the story of a grieving mother’s journey to recover her daughter’s body after a funeral mix-up caused it to be accidentally switched with a stranger’s corpse.

O’Hara’s entry, “Ang Paglilitis ni Andres Bonifacio,” reveals the untold story of Gat Andres Bonifacio’s trial under the Revolutionary Government of President Emilio Aguinaldo.

The director is known for his films “Tatlong Taong Walang Diyos”, “Bulaklak ng City Jail”, “Sisa”, “Fatima Buen”, and “Babae sa Breakwater”.

“Kelangan maging realistic pero hindi naman ibig sabihin na isasakripisyo na ang quality. Hindi matatawaran ang substance at performance dahil ‘yon ang hindi nabibili ng pera,” said O’ Hara.

Two-time Palanca Literary awardee Meily tells the story of pirated DVD vendor Lizette who decided to sell her kidney to a wealthy Arabian patient in “Isang Pirasong Buhay.”

Directing “Crying Ladies” and “La Visa Loca” won Meily numerous awards in international film festivals in Brussels, Hamburg, Kerala, Montreal, and New York.

Now on its sixth year, Cinemalaya is an all-digital film festival that aims to discover, encourage and honor the cinematic works of Filipino filmmakers who articulate and interpret the Filipino experience with fresh insights and artistic integrity.

The Cinemalaya Competition and Festival is a project of the Cinemalaya Foundation, CCP, Film Development Council of the Philippines and Econolink Investments Inc.