PHL’s ‘Ignacio de Loyola’ wins Vatican film festival

Filipino-produced film "Ignacio de Loyola" has been awarded Best Film at the 2017 Mirabile Dictu International Catholic Film Festival which was held at the Palazzo Cardinal Cesi in Vatican City from November 27 to 30.

"Ignacio de Loyola" directed by Paolo Dy is a dramatic retelling of the 16th century soldier-saint’s conversion, from his start as a man of vice and violence to his eventual salvation and founding of the Jesuit order.

Read: Behind the scenes of ‘Ignacio de Loyola’

The Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) news website on Wednesday said it was the first Filipino-produced film to win the prestigious award.

Producers Pauline Mangilog-Saltarin and Ernestine Tamana accepted the Silver Fish trophy in Rome, the CBCP added.

Dy also shared the news in a Facebook post.

Festival founder and organizer Liana Marabini said the film's win was a "unanimous decision."

“The most important thing to say about Ignacio de Loyola is that…it is the first time in the history of the Festival that this happened. There were no discussions about it. The members of the jury appreciated the script, the actors, the decorations, the costumes, the music of the film: in one word, everything,” Maribini was quoted as saying.

"Ignacio de Loyola," featuring a Spanish cast, was produced by the JesCom Films Philippines and marks Dy's directorial debut.

Aside from the Mirabile Dictu, which is considered the "Oscars" of Catholic films, "Ignacio de Loyola" has recieved several local and international awards and nominations since last year.

Vatican luminaries have praised Dy's film at a screening last June 2016.

"The Ignatius here is represented as a person of great spiritual dynamic, even of spiritual struggle. At the same time, it represents the interior life in action. So this movie gave me a lot and it is very well done,” said Rev. Fr. Antonio Spadaro, S.J., of the La Civilta Cattolica, a Jesuit publication based in Rome. — MDM, GMA News