In 2016, in an effort to bring together creatives in Los Angeles, Marie Jamora and her husband Jason McLagan started inviting filmmakers to their living room to showcase short works from all over the Philippine diaspora. After half a year, the events were so successful that it outgrew Marie’s sala, and they needed to find a new home. Non-profit Visual Communications offered the use of their own office sala in Little Tokyo, and it has continued to grow.

Since then, Cinema Sala has expanded to feature-length screenings, master classes, and live performances. Each event is curated thematically, and through the workshop, filmmakers, musicians, artists, and cinema lovers share a creative space to exhibit works-in-progress, receive constructive feedback from their target audience, and/or immerse themselves with craft-based lessons from top industry professionals. Doubling as networking events, many attendees have gone on to find long-lasting artistic collaborations.

In 2020, Academy-nominated director Ava DuVernay awarded Cinema Sala with their first grant, which "supports individuals and organizations that advocate for people of color and women of all kinds, with a special focus on community-building and creativity." Other grant-giving organizations that followed are The Sundance Institute, Cinereach, and the California Arts Council.