Pipo wins Viewers Choice Award in Jamaica fest

MANILA, Philippines - Pipo, directed by Richard Soriano Legaspi (photo), won the Viewers Choice Award in the recently concluded Asian and Middle Eastern Film Night Section of the fifth GATFFEST Film Festival in Kingston, Jamaica.

The film bested eight other entries: three from Iran, one each from Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia, Afghanistan and Israel.

Pipo tells the ‘story of a boy (Maliksi Morales as Pipo) who dreams of having his family picture taken only to find out that what is more important is that he still has a loving family by his side more than anything else.’

Also written by Legaspi, the 20-minute film also stars Lou Veloso, Chanel Latorre, Ramon Palencia and Katherine Carel.

Pipo won the Best Short Film in the 2016 SineBata Film Festival and had competed in various international film festivals including in Bangladesh, Brazil, Mexico, India, Slovenia, Russia, Italy, Greece, Colombia, Malta and Portugal and had been exhibited in Taiwan, San Francisco, U.S.A, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Mexico, Germany, Italy, Dubai and United Arab Emirates.