Manila, Philippines - The University of the Philippines Open University (UPOU) recently announced the winners of the first-ever UPOU Digital Video Competition in a ceremony held last June 18 at the UPOU Headquarters in Los Baños, Laguna.
Maria Gabriela Magpusao’s Alulong was awarded the top prize by the board of judges composed of UPOU Development Communication Prof. Dr. Alexander Flor, UP Film Center director Dr. Arminda Santiago, Cinema Evaluation board member and STAR editor-columnist Büm Tenorio, indie film editor Dempster Samarista and Philippine High School for the Arts Visual Arts instructor Marc Cosico.
Alulong is about a man’s attempt to forget the guilt and trauma of a crime he witnessed, only to find out he can never escape from his tainted past and heart.
The second prize went to Duga sang Kasakit (The Value of Struggle) by Jethro Missael Cañas, which also received the Most Gender Sensitive Video award. Third placer was Alejandro Zamora’s Arnel a.k.a. Sakay.
According to Dr. Primo Garcia, chair of the UPOU Cultural Committee, the digital video competition was organized to provide UPOU students, alumni, faculty and staff members with the platform to express and develop their artistic talents and hone their skills in the use of digital technologies.