It's the second to the last Sunday of May, and just like that, we are almost halfway through the year. Philippine Cinema continues to be tested by the various quarantine restrictions that hamper operations in development, pre-production, principal photography, post-production, distribution, and exhibition. Yet, our industry remains thriving because of the resolve of our filmmakers and workers to continue with content creation.

Despite the many challenges, our film industry has proven once again that it can prosper on the international stage. Just like in 2020, Philippine Cinema has already notched numerous overseas recognitions in the first half of the year, providing the much-needed motivation for the industry to keep going.

"A Thousand Cuts" by Ramona Diaz won for Best Documentary at the 30th Independent Filmmaker Project Gotham Awards in New York;"Here, Here" by Joanne Cesario won the New Visions Short Films Jury Prize at the Golden Gate Award Competitions of the 64th San Francisco International Film Festival; and "To Calm the Pig Inside" by Joanna Vasquez Arong bagged the 2nd Prize in the Long category at the World Press Photo Digital Storytelling Contest in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.

McArthur Alejandre's "Tagpuan" won for Best Feature Film at the 6th Chauri Chaura International Film Festival in India and Joji Alonso's "Belle Douleur" received the Special Jury Prize for Best Feature in Foreign Films at the 54th WorldFest-Houston International Film Festival in Texas. "Harana" by Marie Jamora was awarded the 2021 US Narrative Shorts Competition Jury Prize at the Sarasota Film Festival in Florida. It won for Outstanding Music at The Micheaux Film Festival in Los Angeles, California.

Arjanmar Rebeta's "Confession" took home the Great Jury Prize at the V Córdoba International Film-Minute Festival in Argentina. Joey Agbayani's "The Visitor" got the Best Horror Short Award the 9th Vesuvius International Film Festival in Campania, Italy.

I am proud to share that two students were able to bag international awards at the onset of their filmmaking careers. "My House" by Mapua University Digital Film student Adam Dumaguin won Third Place out of 700 entries in "No Sleep 'til Film Fest," a 48-hour filmmaking competition for emerging creators established by AGBO, founded by award-winning and record-breaking Marvel directors Anthony and Joe Russo.

"Sa Layag ng Bangkang Paurong" (The Boats That Sail Backwards)" by Mark Giddel Liwanag of Alaminos City National High School in Pangasinan was hailed as the Best International Documentary in Ireland's Young Filmmaker of the Year Awards at the Fresh International Film Festival in Limerick, Ireland. It won Best Advocacy Statement and Best Documentary Film in the Streets to Schools National Film Competition of the Association of the Rights of Children in Southeast Asia.

Filipino artists shine the world over

The awards mentioned above are testaments to the undisputed talents of Filipinos, and the individual performance and technical awards garnered this year further prove the greatness of Philippine artistry.

With internationally acclaimed auteur Brillante Mendoza

Elijah Canlas was the Best Actor for "Kalel, 15" at the Harlem International Film Festival in New York, "Harana" lead Frencheska Farr was the Outstanding Dramatic Actress at The Micheaux Film Festival, and Kit Thompson of "Belle Douleur" won the Remi Award for Best Actor (Panorama Asia) at Wolrdfest-Houston. Rogelio Balagtas won the Special Jury Recognition Award at the SXSW Film Festival 2021 in Austin, Texas for his performance in "Islands," while Agbayani won another Vesuvius award, the Best Director of Photography for "Venganza."

In terms of casting, acclaimed actors Soliman Cruz, Bart Guingona, and Noel Sto. Domingo are in the psychological thriller drama "To The North" by Romanian Mihai Mincan, with Cruz as the lead. Award-winning Cebuana Chai Fonacier is cast alongside international stars Eva Green and Mark Strong in Lorcan Finnegan's psychological thriller "Nocebo."

French actress Green said of her "fabulous co-star" in an Instagram post, "Chai is truly a great actress with extraordinary depth and sensitivity and she was an incredible partner - she blew me away!" As the first co-production between the Philippines and Ireland, "Nocebo" is a FilmPhilippines International Co-production Fund (ICOF) grantee of the Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP).

In the world of OST, Asia's Soul Supreme KZ Tandingan was chosen to be the voice behind "Gabay," the first-ever Disney track in Filipino for "Raya and the Last Dragon." At the 93rd Academy Awards, Filipino-American Gabriella Sarmiento Wilson, popularly known as H.E.R., won her first Oscar for Best Original Song for "Fight for You" from "Judas and the Black Messiah."

With regard to talent development, several Filipinos were selected by the Berlin International Film Festival in Germany for their brimming potential: producers Ria Limjap, Alex Poblete, Geo Lomuntad, Joseph Israel Laban, and John Paul Abellera for the Berlinale Co-Production Market's Online Visitors Programme; and producer Alemberg Ang, editor and producer Cyril Bautista, and actor and director Sheenly Gener for Berlinale Talents.

The online 21st Rotterdam Lab of the 50th International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) in the Netherlands had two Filipino participants, Julienne Ilagan and April Batican. The FDCP is also sending the first Philippine country delegation to the 28th Sheffield Doc/Fest in England.

Last and definitely not the least, internationally acclaimed auteur, cinematographer, and producer Brillante Mendoza was the Chairman of the Main Competition Jury of the 43rd Moscow International Film Festival in Russia.

PH films in int'l film fests

The Philippine animation sector is ecstatic about Avid Liongoren's "Hayop Ka! The Nimfa Dimaano Story" as it is the country's first competing film in the prestigious Annecy International Animation Film Festival in France. The first animated Filipino Netflix film was a project at the FDCP-supported First Cut Lab 2019.

Another milestone is the Sundance Film Festival selection of Sonny Calvento's "Excuse Me, Miss, Miss, Miss," making it the first Filipino short to enter Sundance. Meanwhile, Venice Atienza's "Last Days at Sea" made it to the Berlinale Generation 2021 (Kplus competition).

Antoinette Jadaone's "Fan Girl" was selected by the IFFR, 22nd JEONJU International Film Festival in South Korea, and 10th San Diego Asian Film Festival Spring Showcase while Petersen Vargas' "How to Die Young in Manila" was chosen by Outfest Fusion QTBIPOC Film Festival in LA.

Moreover, the Hong Kong International Film Festival featured "Here, Here," "To Calm the Pig Inside," Mendoza's "Mindanao," "The Halt" by Lav Diaz, and "Verdict" by Raymund Ribay Gutierrez; the International Short Film Festival Oberhausen in Germany selected "Count" by Adjani Arumpac, "Random People" by Arden Rod Condez, "Gunam-Gunam X Guni-Guni (Rumi X Phantasm)" by Khavn De La Cruz.

The 16th Osaka Asian Film Festival featured "Excuse Me, Miss, Miss, Miss," Lawrence Fajardo's "Kintsugi," and JP Habac's "Dito at Doon" while "Tagpuan" and Jun Robles Lana's "Kalel, 15" were part of the 16th Harlem International Film Festival in New York.

The Colorado Dragon Boat Film Festival featured "Quezon's Game" by Matthew Rosen and "Death of Nintendo" by Raya Martin, with the latter also being part of the Milwaukee Film Festival and Buenos Aires International Festival of Independent Cinema.

Alyx Ayn Arumpac's critically acclaimed "Aswang" was screened in Cinéma Public's International Cinema section in Canada while "UnTrue" by Sigrid Andrea Bernardo and "Isa Pa with Feelings" by Prime Cruz were screened on Naver TV as part of the Asean Culture House's ASEAN Cinema Week to celebrate the Asean-Republic of Korea Commemorative Summit in Busan.

The Center for Asian American Media Festival (CAAMFest) in San Francisco featured "The Fabulous Filipino Brothers" by Dante Basco and "Lumpia With a Vengeance" by Patricio Ginelsa while the International Film Festival Manhattan selected "Iyallatiw" by Melver Ritz Gomez and "In The Name of the Mother" by Joel Lamangan.

Finally, three Filipino-American films were among the 366 titles eligible for consideration for the Academy Awards Best Picture: "A Thousand Cuts," "Lingua Franca" by Isabel Sandoval, and "Yellow Rose" by Diane Paragas. "A Thousand Cuts" was also eligible for the Best Documentary Feature Film Category together with "Aswang" while "To Calm the Pig Inside" was eligible for the Best Documentary (Short Subject) Category.

Promising projects from the Philippines

The winning list goes on with our projects, led by "Dancing the Tides" by Xeph Suarez, which was selected for the Cannes film lab La Fabrique Cinéma, and "Cangrejos" by Zurich Chan, which made it to the Hong Kong-Asia Film Financing Forum. Both are projects of the FDCP's 1st Southern Voices Film Lab.

FDCP's CreatePHFilms grantee "Ninja from Manila" by Miko Livelo is part of TorinoFilmLab's first Comedy Lab while FilmPhilippines grantee "Whether the Weather is Fine" by Carlo Francisco Manatad was selected for the Qumra Online program of the Doha Film Institute.

The Berlinale Talent Project Market featured Full Circle Lab Philippines project "6th Finger" by Sheron Dayoc and "Tropical Gothic" by Sandoval, which won the VFF Talent Highlight Award. At the Copenhagen International Documentary Film Festival, "H For Hoax: The Phantasmagorically True Story Of The Stone Age Tasadays" by Khavn was chosen to present at the CPH:FORUM. At the IFFR, Vietnamese queer drama "Viet and Nam," produced by Bianca-Balbuena Liew and Bradley Liew of Epicmedia Productions, won the Rotterdam Cinemart Young Film Critics Award.

All these achievements are remarkable, and I would like to extend my congratulations and immense gratitude to all our dedicated filmmakers, artists, and workers for bringing so much pride and honor to the Philippines during these trying times.

As we move on to the next half of 2021, let us continue to band together to strengthen our resilience and determination to further the development of our industry and proudly champion Philippine Cinema throughout the world.

Notes from the Chair
The Sunday Times Magazine  - The Manila Times

Notes from the Chair is part of the Arts Awake section of The Sunday Times Magazine published by The Manila Times. Click HERE to view the article on The Manila Times website.