Cinemalaya 2012 winners along with Cinemalaya organizers |
My
maiden experience with the Cinemalaya back in 2011 was a rare feat which
impressed a lot of people who knew what I was able to achieve back then. But
going to this year’s edition, I knew that it would take a monumental effort for
me to duplicate what I achieved last year when I saw all shorts, all films in
competition, and the opening and closing films as well. Unfortunately, not only
did I miss the opening film during the opening night, but I also missed the
first few days of the festival due to bad weather. Out of the 15 films in
competition, I was only able to watch seven and I entirely missed seeing all
the shorts.
Here
are the winners of the 8th Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film
Festival 2012:
Short
Feature Category
Best
Screenplay - Sigrid Andrea Bernardo for Paghihintay sa Bulong
Best
Direction - Sheron Dayoc for As He Sleeps
Special
Jury Prize - Manenaya
Audience
Choice - Ruweda
Best
Film - Victor
Directors Showcase Category
Best
Sound - Ditoy Aguila for Kalayaan
Best
Original Music Score - Diwa De Leon for Kamera Obskura
Best
Editing - Vanessa De Leon for Mga Mumunting Lihim
Best
Production Design - Adolf Alix Jr. for Kalayaan
Best
Cinematography - Albert Banzon for Kalayaan
Best
Screenplay - Jose Javier Reyes for Mga Mumunting Lihim
Best
Performance of a Supporting Actor - Art Acuna for Posas
Best
Performance of a Supporting Actress - Iza Calzado, Janice de Belen, Agot Isidro
and Judy Ann Santos for Mga Mumunting Lihim for Mga Mumunting Lihim
Best
Direction - Raymond Red for Kamera Obskura
Best
Performance of an Actor - Eddie Garcia for Bwakaw
Best
Performance of an Actress - Iza Calzado, Janice de Belen, Agot Isidro and Judy
Ann Santos for Mga Mumunting Lihim
Special
Jury Prize - Kamera Obskura
Audience
Choice - Bwakaw
NETPAC
Award - Bwakaw
Best
Film - Posas
New Breed Category
Best
Sound - Albert Michael Idioma for Aparisyon
Best
Original Music Score - Mikey Amistoso, Jazz Nicolas, and Diego Mapa for Ang
Nawawala
Best Editing - John Wong and RonaDelos Reyes for The
Animals
Best Editing - John Wong and Rona
Best
Production Design - Benjamin Payumo for Intoy Syokoy
Best
Cinematography - Tristan Salas for Diablo
Best
Screenplay - Rody Vera for REquieme!
Best
Performance of a Supporting Actor - Joross Gamboa for Intoy Syokoy
Best
Performance of a Supporting Actress - Anita Linda for Sta. Niña
Best
Direction - Mes De Guzman for Diablo
Best
Performance of an Actor - Kristoffer King for Oros
Best
Performance of an Actress - Ama Quiambao for Diablo
Special
Jury Prize - REquieme!
Audience
Choice - Ang Nawawala
NETPAC
Award - Diablo
Best
Film - Diablo
I
was only able to start attending Cinemalaya at the Cultural Center of the Philippines during the fourth day of regular screening.
That meant that if I targeted two screenings at the Tanghalang Nicanor Abelardo
(CCP Main Theater) per day, I was already six films behind. Here are my thoughts
of the films that I managed to see this year.
Kalayaan
Kalayaan
(Wildlife), a film by Adolf Alix Jr., wasn’t a good way to start Cinemalaya for
me. The film started interestingly and shockingly as well with a nude man walking
down the shore and then engaging in a sexual act with of all things, a mermaid.
After that the film rolled slowly, focusing on Julian played by Thai actor
Ananda Everingham, a soldier stationed over at the Spratly
Islands . The life of a soldier
there is a lonely and boring one and I was indeed bored as well while watching
the earlier part of the film. The film did pick up when other soldiers (Zanjoe
Marudo and Luis Alandy) came into the picture during the second half. I felt
that the hype surrounding Everingham’s inclusion in this film was just that,
all hype. His role barely had any lines and I think that any other actor
could’ve essayed his role to the same effect. I have a strong feeling that I would’ve
responded a lot differently had this been a film that I saw midway during the
festival.
Adolf Alix Jr. and Ananda Everingham from Kalayaan |
Sta. Niña
My
goodness, I never expected such pandemonium over Coco Martin. Even before I got
out of the CCP Main Theater, I already heard some screaming coming from the
lobby. I got a bit worried that these people might not be at their best
behavior while watching the film. Thankfully, these people behaved well during
the screening of the film. Sta. Niña, a film by Emmanuel Palo, tells the story
of Pol (Coco Martin) who digs up the corpse of his daughter ten years later and
yet showing no signs of decaying. Soon enough, he and the rest of his village
start to believe that his child brings forth miracles. But the mother of the
child, Mabel, (Alessandra da Rossi) remains skeptical and urges Pol to just
bury their daughter and move on with their lives. Raising serious questions
regarding religion that is often mixed with politics, superstition and
commercialism as well as hinting an intriguing back story between Pol, Mabel and
their families make Sta. Niña an engaging film. At times, the movie felt like
reading a thick novel filled with many side characters and subplots. The movie
lost a bit of its steam for me right after a crucial turning point in the plot when
Pol and the rest of his entourage urged the bishop to make the corpse a saint.
One of the main highlights of this film was the performance of veteran actress
Anita Linda as the Alzheimer’s disease stricken grandmother of Pol.
Anita Linda from Sta. Niña |
Getting
to watch two films (both Gala Screenings) during my first night at the
Cinemalaya was not bad at all. But I’ve already missed too much and it would be
very difficult for me to catch up. I felt out of the loop whenever I heard
people talk about the other films that they’ve already watched. But it felt
good seeing a lot of people whom I got to know last year and started referring
to as Cinemalaya classmates. It was just too bad that I didn’t have complete
attendance just like last year.
Alessandra da Rossi from Sta. Niña |
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