FILMS tackling women’s rights and Philippine social issues won the top prizes at the 5th Pista ng Pelikulang Pilipino (PPP) awards night, held online on Sept. 30.
The event was held online on the Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP) Channel with a simulcast on Facebook.
The 5th edition of the PPP had two categories: Sine Kabataan, which had 10 five-minute short films targeted at children; and Sine Isla: LuzViMinda, which had 15 short films from the regions. This year’s festival ran from Sept. 17 to 26 on the FDCP Channel website.
Ang Bunga sa Tiyan ni Adam, directed by Ella Louise B. Salomon, won the Sine Kabataan Best Short Film for its “impressive direction, great control over the script, and cinematography, and impeccable performance from the regional talents. Its strong distinctive and absurdist style makes for a very admirable film.” Tacking the issue of women’s rights, the film is about a teenage boy who tells his girlfriend he is pregnant after taking a pregnancy test.
This year’s PPP jury members were film producer Pamela Reyes, cinematographer Lee Briones-Meily, directors JB Habac, Glenn Barit, and Kyle Nieva, and FDCP Chairperson and CEO Mary Liza Bautista Diño-Seguerra.
The PPP winners got cash prizes. The Audience Choice Award winner got P10,000; Special Mention films each got P20,000; Best Director got P30,000; the Special Jury Prize film got P40,000; and Best Short Film got P50,000.
This year’s PPP introduced the first Sine Isla: LuzViMind category. The winners took home a trophy and cash prizes.
Palabas, directed by Arjanmar H. Rebeta, was named the Sine Isla Best Short Film “for its powerful depiction of the Philippine social realities through human interaction.” The film follows a Filipina student who converses with a middle-aged foreigner about various social issues in the Philippines.
The Sine Isla Audience Choice awardee won P10,000; Special Mention films won P20,000; Best Director won P30,000; Special Jury Prize won P40,000; and Best Short Film won P50,000.
The Sine Isla LuzViMinda jury members were director Sigrid Andrea Bernardo, director and producer Sheron Dayoc, director and screenwriter Zig M. Dulay, producer Si En Tan, director and editor Carlo Francisco Manatad, Globe Studios Head of Creative Development Kren Yap, FDCP Lead Officer of International Relations Division Jo Andrew Torlao, and FDCP Executive Director Ria Anne Rubia.
The Sine Kabataan and Sine Isla: LuzViMinda short films can still be viewed for free and on-demand from Oct. 1 to 8 at www.fdcpchannel.ph. — Michelle Anne P. Soliman
The winners of the 5th Pista ng Pelikulang Pilipino are:
Sine Kabataan
• Best Short Film: Ang Bunga sa Tiyan ni Adam by Ella Louise B. Salomon
• Jury Prize: Mga Ulap Tayong Nagiging Ulan by Demetrio E Celestino III
• Best Director: Love in the Ungodly Hour by Bradley Jason Pantajo
• Sine Kabataan Special Mention Awards: Abot Kamay ang Langit by Brian Spencer Reyes, and Jeremy Supot by James Allen Fajardo
• Audience Choice Award: Love in the Ungodly Hour by Bradley Jason Pantajo
Sine Isla: LuzViMinda:
• Best Short Film: Palabas by Arjanmar H. Rebeta
• Jury Prize: Halawod by Anna Katrina Velez Tejero
• Best Director: Tarang by Arvin Belarmino
• Sine Isla Special Mention Award: The Man Who Isn’t There and other Stories of Longing by Trishtan Perez
• Audience Choice Award: Singil by Maria Graciella Musa