Through its well-developed system of seeding funds and its well-run (and very popular) festival, Cinemalaya has become the laboratory, greenhouse and market in which aspiring Philippine filmmakers learnt their trade in producing and presenting work for audiences both at home and overseas. Some titles, such as The Woman in the Septic Tank, became box-office hits, while others, such as Transit and John Denver Trending, were feted at prestigious festivals abroad. In this talk, Cinemalaya programmers look back on the evolution of the festival and its role in Philippine independent cinema.