Entry on Sto. Niño myths tops Sinulog film fest

CEBU, Philippines – A story on miracles emerged the grand prize winner in the Sinulog 2015 Short Film Festival during the awards ceremony held Saturday night at SM Cinema 1.

Ara Chawdurry’s “Operation Prutas” bested 12 other entries in the annual festival, and bagged other awards including Best Picture and Best Direction.

“I’m happy but it’s more because I managed to finish a short film and everyone involved in the production can get paid for their efforts. We’re also pooling funds for a feature length, so this is definitely going to help. We didn’t expect to win, different juries have different tastes. Maybe it just happened that we made something that this set of judges enjoyed,” Chawdurry said.

Asked what she thought made “Operation Prutas” stand out from the other entries, the young director replied, ”I think it would be our approach to the competition’s challenge. A lot of people like to tell stories about their own experience. Ours was based on the mythology surrounding the Sto. Niño. I like speculative fiction.”

Chawdurry said she hopes to get funding for more of her scripts, as sourcing for finances remain her biggest challenge as a budding filmmaker.

“I really wanted to hire the right people and since they do this for a living, I had to make sure I had the funds too. If we want to create a stable film industry in Cebu, we have to learn to pay people for their work. The skills required in this industry are honed by experience and hard work. We lose a lot of skilled production people to greener pastures,” she said.

Chawdurry called on Cebuanos to “watch films you wouldn’t see in mainstream theaters, even if you hate them. The more educated you are about what’s out there, the more confident you become with your own voice.”

The second place went to Davinci Maru’s “Kab-ot,” while in third place was Chloe Veloso’s “Pahiyom Alang Kang Evelyn.”

According to Nestor Jardin, Chairman of Cinemalaya Films, this year’s competition was quite hard due to the large number of entries.

In his speech, Jardin thanked the participants for their creativity. “I think the new crop of filmmakers now could bring back the golden age of Cebuano cinema because they have the stories to tell. They have many talents to share not only the directors, but actors, editors, cinematographers, among others. What we need now is the support to be able to work further and to really create a new golden age for Cebuano cinema.”

Below is the complete list of winners:

Short Film category : Best Poster – Rolando Pascua’s “Palad;” Best in Packaging – Richard Nayne and Dante Luzon’s “Kwentas;”  Best in Sound Engineering and Musical Scoring – Davinci Maru’s “Kab-ot;” Best Production Design – Davinci Maru’s “Kab-ot;”  Best Editing – Ara Chawdurry’s “Operation Prutas;” Best in Cinematography – Davinci Maru’s “Kab-ot;” Best Story – Chloe Veloso’s “Pahiyom Alang Kang Evelyn;” Best Direction – Ara Chawdurry of “Operation Prutas;”   Best actor – Christian Lat of  “Salamat;” Best Actress – Lucia Juezan of  “Pagpauli;” Best Supporting Actor – Duwic Medalla of “Pagsalig;” Best Supporting Actress – Charisse Mari Fonacer of “Operation Prutas” and Best Child Performer – John Neil Torente Roa of “Sampaguita.”

Video Documentary category : Best Story – Januar Yap’s “Sangay;” Best Direction – Rolando Pascua of “Dare To Live;” Best Narration – Jeffrey Maraviles’ “The Link;” Best Sound Engineering – Pascua’s “Dare To Live;” Best Sound Editing – Pascua’s “Dare To Live;” Best Cinematography – Pascua’s “Dare To Live;” Best Musical Scoring –Yap’s “Dios, Dios;” Best Packaging – Pascua’s “Dare To Live”  and Best Poster – Pascua’s “Dare To Live.”

First place: Pascua’s “Dare to Live,” second place, Patricia Joy Martinez’ and Nikko Dajao’s “Sangpit,” and third place to Januar Yap’s “Dios, Dios.”

Music Video category: first place – “Combo Lata” by Poh Lim 2; second place – “Batang Balaan” by Ronnel D. Villaflor and third place – “Ayaw Ko Buhii” by Mary Grace Remo and Hanz Florentino.

Photo Contest for Contingent category: first place – Victor Kintanar; second place – Rolando Pascua; third place – John Harold Tan Lucas; fourth place – Restie C. Derigay; fifth place – Ryann B. Ablen; sixth place – Roberto Manatad Jr.; seventh place – Reynante L. Opada; eight place – Ted Madamba; ninth place – Reyne N. Villena and tenth place – Reynante L. Opada.

Photo Contest for Fluvial and Solemn Procession category: first place – Christopher Colinares; second place – Reginald James Lorico; third place – Erick John Cuevas; fourth place – Catherine I. Angeles; fifth place – Teresito M. Ybañez; sixth place – Robo Formacion; seventh place – Florrench Gabin; eight place – Christopher Colinares; ninth place – Jennifer June Sibi and tenth place – Christopher Colinares.

Photo Contest for Float/Puppeteers and Higante category: first place – Renier Figuracion; second place – Lucil Montermoso; third place – Daniel Ybañez; fourth place – Gerald Serbise; fifth place – Chubby Atillo; sixth place – Ivan Langit; seventh place – Kim Bondoc; eight place – Ernesto Sibi; ninth place – Rene Ybañez and tenth place – Jane Duffy.

Photo Contest for the Sidelights/Route Decoration/On Site Decoration category: first place – Eliseo Borromeo Jr.; second place – April Ong; third place – Ivan Perez; fourth place – Chilun Leung; fifth place – Dan Douglas Ong; sixth place – Aldo Nelbert Banaynal; seventh place – Jan Kirwin Chua; eight place – Rhett P. Dolon; ninth place – Val Bonjoc Casuco and tenth place – Fabian Acaso.

Photo Contest for Sinulog Festival Queen category: first place – Dr. Henry C. Chua; second place – Dan Douglas Ong; third place – Roland Maratas Jr.; fourth place – Dan Douglas Ong; fifth place – Daniel M. Ybañez; sixth place – Leo C. Sibi; seventh place – Anthony Hejie Suralta; eight place – Janice A. Tadoyo; ninth place – Lucil Montermoso and tenth place – Joseph V. Ladion.

Top three grand prize winners for Sinulog Photo Contest: first place – Catherine Angeles; second place – Jover Alforque and third place – Oligario Cortes.