2008 DEKADA CINEMANILA AWARDEES :
YOUNG CINEMA: SHORTS & DOCS
(EDWIN, CHAIR; ARLEEN CUEVAS; TAN PIN PIN)
BEST DOCUMENTARY: MARLON (PHILIPPINES) BY RALSTON JOVER & JAMES AMPARO
We award the Best Documentary award to Marlon for giving a fresh look on the subject of blindness. We applaud the directors or their sharp eye for details, their patience and their restraint. They let the mundane details of the daily life of a poor blind boy speak to the audience directly but quietly… For trusting these details to resonate with the audience universally and ..for not exploiting a subject that could be easily exploited.
BEST SHORT FILM: TUMBANG PRESO (PHILIPPINES) BY ANTOINETTE JADAONE
We applaud the film Tumbang Preso for the clever use of one set of dialogue to contrast and parallel the world of Estong as a child and Estong as a grown-up. The director understands the short film medium and has the discipline to work within the limitations of it to produce a fun and very watchable short film.
ISHMAEL BERNAL AWARD: CHRISTOPHER GOZUM FOR SURREAL RANDOM MMS TEXTS PARA ED INA, AGUI, TAN KAAMONG YA MAKAIILIW ED SIKA : GURGURLIS ED BANUA (SURREAL RANDOM MMS TEXTS FOR A MOTHER, A SISTER, AND A WIFE WHO LONGS FOR YOU : LANDSCAPE WITH FIGURES) -
We found Christopher Gozum’s flm inspiring. He was able to combine the beauty of Carlos Bulasan’s poetry with minimalist and random images of LCD screens, daily life, creating rhythm light and sound from them to convey the longing and displacement of a Filipino working in the Middle East. Revelatory and humbling, we hope this award will encourage the director to continue his quest of mapping the human heart through film.
INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION
(DR. BIENVENIDO LUMBERA, CHAIR; TANJA MEDING; PAOLO MINUTO)
LINO BROCKA AWARD GRAND PRIZE : THE BAND’S VISIT (ISRAEL) BY ERAN KOLIRIN
The Band’s Visit is about a military band from Egypt that inadvertently land in an out-of-the-way community in Israel on its way to give a performance elsewhere. The discomfiture of the strangers is treated with humor that turns the tale into a warmly human account of a poignant encounter between two cultures as the prim-and-proper band leader gradually opened up to the straightforward woman-shopkeeper hosting some of the band members for the night.
GRAND JURY PRIZE : THE AMAZING TRUTH ABOUT QUEEN RAQUELA (ICELAND/PHILIPPINES/FRANCE) BY OLAF DE FLEUR JOHANNESSON
The film successfully combined fact and fiction to glimpse with respect and graciousness. The life story and aspiration of a ‘lady boy’ from Cebu who gets to realize his/her dream of seeing Paris, in the process allowing the viewers an insight into the heart and mind of its main character.
VIC SILAYAN AWARD FOR BEST ACTOR : KENNETH MORALEDA FOR LUCKY MILES (AUSTRALIA)
VIC SILAYAN AWARD FOR BEST ACTRESS : ANGELI BAYANI FOR MELANCHOLIA (PHILIPPINES)
SEA FILM COMPETITION
(WONG TUCK CHEONG, CHAIR; KENNETH MORALEDA; ANNA CAPRI)
BEST SEA SHORT : FROU FROU…SHH WAG MONG SABIHIN KAY ITAY BY MICHAEL JUAT
Clever appropriation of cinematic, media and cultural clichés done with finely tuned comedy. uses a glossy exterior and high production values to deceptively comment of notions of artistic expression and satirises everything from a cynical but biting point of view.
BEST SEA FILM : CONFESSIONAL BY JERROLD TAROG & RUEL DAHIS ANTIPUESTO
Clever excecution of the mockumentary style to comment on the art of fimmaking, personal relationships, politics, and culture. The film was well orchestrated in the use of film making production elements to support a point of view and engage the audience. Showed great ability in amalgamting seemingly disparate elements to a cohesive whole.
BEST ACTOR : MARIO MAURER FOR LOVE OF SIAM (THAILAND)
Mature acting choices within a wide range of situations. Beneath a calm and placid external demeanor his performance he displayed a rich inner struggle dealing with emotional burdens, with family, friends, his social circle and his romantic and sexual awakening.
BEST ACTRESS : ANITA LINDA FOR ADELA (PHILIPPINES)
A beautifully understaed performance rich in emotional nuances. Showing an great reflective understanding of the relationships between the different characters within the film’s microcosm.
DIGITAL LOKAL
(LAV DIAZ, CHAIR; PIMPAKA TOWIRA)
LINO GRAND PRIZE : IMBURNAL BY SHERAD ANTHONY SANCHEZ
Water as the greatest metaphor on the lifeblood of the Filipino – this film earnestly shows the experience is both harrowing and poignant.
LINO GRAND JURY PRIZE : NEXT ATTRACTION BY RAYA MARTIN
It is a strongly structured film and Martin’s work is showing us a new path for cinematic language
BEST ACTOR : CARLO AQUINO FOR CARNIVORE
BEST ACTRESS : JODI STA. MARIA FOR SISA
BEST DIRECTOR : ATO BAUTISTA FOR CARNIVORE
UN MDGs PRIZE : LAY-AN, CANDLES BURNING ON STILL WATER BY ROMMEL TOLENTINO
LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD : PETE LACABA
