8th Mindanao Film Fest fetes winners

In any awarding ceremony, there are always winners as there are losers.  

 

Of the 34 films that competed against each other in various categories in the 8th Mindanao Film Festival (MFF) held in Davao City, only 12 took home the coveted awards.

“Sintunado,” a product of a guerilla film workshop, brought home the most awards with five trophies. The GF9 Productions movie was chosen Best Film, Best Guerilla Film (tied with “Me”), Best Workshop Film, Best Cinematography, and Best Production Design.

 

L.A. Subido won the Best Actress trophy for her performance in Aidx Paredes’s “Somnolence”(which also got the Best Shout-Out for film promotions) while the ensemble cast of Gary Bautista’s “Bantay” was chosen as Best Actor. His performance in Albert Egot’s “Gugma ni Pilo” got Lance Estillore a special jury citation for acting.

 

Vincent Suarez took home the coveted Best Director trophy for “Sentimiento del Mago Quieto.” 

 

Aedrian Araojo’s “El Pundido Luz de la Caza” received the Best Screenplay and Best Sound. It also got a special jury citation for Best Film. Sonny Campaner’s “Migo Niño” was given a special jury citation for Best Screenplay.

 

The Best Musical Score went to “Pagsaha” while the Best Original Song was taken by Dennis Coronel’s “Ang Pagkamatay ni Wonder Woman.” Giojoe Amoguis’s “Damgo” was adjudged Best Editing. The Best Line in a Film was spoken by Rey Oyao, the lead star of “Gugma ni Pilo.”

 

The awarding was held Tuesday at the Gaisano Mall Cinema, the festival’s home since its inception in 2005.

 

“We admit we are far and distant from formal film schools, but our strongest asset is our imagination. However raw our cinematic idea or concept is, this festival will always respect it and this is perhaps the greatest factor why the Mindanao Film Festival will always exist,” said Rudolph Alama, the festival director, during the awarding ceremony.

 

This year’s theme was “Your Film, Your Festival.” 

 

“This means that as filmmakers your responsibility now goes beyond the production or post production but to the actual marketing and the promotion of your films,” Alama said.

 

“I think this is the future of indie filmmaking, particularly in regional filmmaking,” he added. “We have to spread our film to an expanding audience in the most creative and cost-effective way possible.”

 

Alama reminded filmmakers that a “really great film” will not go a long way if the people behind it won’t do anything.  

 

“Anong silbi (ng film mo) kung hindi ka man lang mag-eeffort na i-promote ito at walang manonood?” he said. “I hope that next year, we will see intensified efforts. The same creativity you exercised in making your film should have the same effort in promoting it.”

 

MFF is considered as one of the longest running regional film festivals in the country.  

 

According to Alama, MFF has been a welcome platform for individuals who are brave enough to translate their stories into films. “The festival has also been a breeding ground for film talents, and many of them have gone on to work for full-length productions and were nominated or have won awards on the national level,” Alama added. —KG, GMA News