Cinemalaya Cinco Awards: Celebrating simple yet compelling storytelling

MANILA, Philippines - Full-length indie films with tangy true-to-life or mythical flavors powered by hilarious or tormented themes — and matched with simple yet compelling storytelling styles — beat the financial muscle, technical chic, and all-star cast hoopla of their glossy competitor when Last Supper No. 3 received the Best Film award while Colorum and Ang Panggagahasa Kay Fe both collected the Special Jury Prize from the Cinemalaya Cinco’s international official jury.

Ordinary indie-lovers crowned Dinig Sana Kita with the Audience Choice award in the just-concluded 2009 Philippine Independent Film Festival.

Cinemalaya Cinco captivated 38,423 indie cinema fans who shelled out P1.723-M to buy tickets during its July 17 to 26 run.

Last Supper No. 3, by Veronica Velasco and Jinky Laurel, won the Best Film award “for the sheer panache of its storytelling, its treatment of comedy as an accessible and artistic form, its satirical depictions of individual naiveté and the social fabric, and its ability to give us something to laugh and think about at the same time.”

The film is a real-life story of Wilson Acuyong (named Wilson Nañawa in the film), an assistant production designer assigned to seek a suitable image of the Last Supper as props for a TV commercial. Wilson (played by Joey Paras) loses one of the three Last Supper images selected, prompting the owner to exact money from him. And for failing to return the Last Supper tapestry, Nañawa was sued and finds himself battered and almost devoured by the corrupt judicial system.

Last Supper No. 3 is remarkable as an indie film for its respectful presentation of a suffering gay person as the central figure in the story. Even more interesting is the absence of a romantic element in the life of Nañawa. The romantic twist is so commonly abused in a number of indie films with homosexual characters as a vehicle to show uninhibited scenes.

In accepting the award, Veronica told the crowd at the Cultural Center of the Philippines Main Theater that she received a number of congratulatory messages from people who had seen the film, but they warned her that “hindi nananalo ang comedy sa Cinemalaya.” (Comedy films do not win awards in Cinemalaya competition.)

The Cinemalaya Cinco jury bestowed the Special Jury Prize to Jon Steffan Ballesteros’ Colorum and Alvin Yapan’s Ang Panggagahasa Kay Fe for being “exemplars of the possibilities of Filipino filmmaking.” The jury honored Colorum (starring Lou Veloso and Alfred Vargas) “for portraying the moral differences between being idealistic and having principles in a captivating road movie about a young rookie and an aging ex-convict” while it praised Ang Panggagahasa Kay Fe “for its mediations on the plight of Filipino women in a provocative take that blurs the boundaries between the mundane and the mysterious, the real and the fantastic.”

Ina Feleo’s portrayal of a timid, vulnerable girl hopelessly in love with a high school crush in Milo Sogueco’s Sanglaan garnered the Best Actress award “for the quiet expressiveness, vulnerability, and sheer honesty of her portrayal of a young woman who meets her high school crush while working in a pawnshop.” Tessie Tomas’ role of the pawnshop owner in this film was extolled by the jury in the form of the Best Supporting Actress award “for her outstanding portrayal of a complex woman balancing the demands of her business, the urgings of her family, her own desires and the welfare of the people who work for her.”

Lou took home the Best Actor award “for the pathos of his portrayal of an ex-convict trapped in unusual circumstances while searching for his son, and for the depth and consistency of his emotionally powerful performance on a cinematic road trip.”

During his acceptance speech, an exceptionally emotional Lou forgot the title of the indie film (Colorum) for which he won his first best acting award for a dramatic performance, but managed to profusely thank and share his award with his “leading man, Alfred Vargas.” Alfred as Simon, a hardworking but idealistic young policeman, convincingly held his ground against the established Lou, surprising many viewers that he could act with appropriate nuance.

Lou said, in his long acting career, he has been frustrated by the absence of offer to essay dramatic roles and singled out Robbie Tan for persuading him to accept the Colorum role, which he initially declined fearing that the out-of-town shooting schedule may interfere with his official duties as one of the councilors in Manila.

Lou said, “To Mr. Antonio Cojuangco, sana lalo pang dumami pa ang pera mo para marami ka pang matulungan na mga alagad ng sining at kultura.”  (To Mr. Antonio Cojuangco, may your wealth increase that you may help many more people in the arts and culture.)

Well-oiled Astig’s technical superiority over its nine modest rivals, however, was recognized by the international jury, giving the film — supported by showbiz icon unparalleled Boy Abunda and Boy So as executive producers — Best Direction for GB Sampedro for his “storytelling excellence and technical brilliance in weaving the elements of the cinema into a coherent tale of tragedy and chaos,” Best Editing for Charliebebs Gohetia for his “startling and powerful juxtapositions of life in the city and the jarring yet startling seamless intermingling stories of its three young men,” and Best Sound award for Ditoy Aguila, Junnel Valencia, and Mark Locsin for their “crisp and seamless blend of the cacophony of city life and the whispers and screams of its shattered lives.”

Arnold Reyes won Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of a sexually confused young man in one of the four episodes of Astig. He was cited “for his powerful portrayal of stillness and stoicism amidst the ghosts of his past and the chaos of street life in Manila, even as it is brought to a tragic breaking point.” 

Vic Acedillo picked up the Best Screenplay award for Nerseri, with the jury citing him “for creating unforgettable, human characters whose dysfunctional psyches and relationships are an important part of, but still a fraction of, their selves as real persons.”

The Best Cinematography award went to Pao Orendain of 24K for “its quiet yet powerful images of landscapes and environments as psychological states in a fool’s quest for treasure that moves from the urbane, to the natural, and to the mysterious.”

Mangatyanan’s Benjamin Padero won the Best Production award “for effectively creating the physical and oppositional terrains for the urban and rural, and the real and mystical, in a story of a young girl’s coming to terms with her own troubled past.”

The award for Best Original Musical Score was given to Francisbrew Reyes of Dinig Sana Kita “for the range of its musical genres and instrumentations that successfully convey the tender and turbulent emotions in a love story about youth, identity, and the ability to communicate.”

The 1st Cinemalaya Network for the Promotion of Asian Cinema prize, a new section of the Cinemalaya film festival, was awarded to Ralston Jover’s Baseco Bakal Boys, while Michael Sandejas’ Dinig Sana Kita received the National Council for Children’s Television award for its promotion of family values. 

Awards for the Short Feature Film category are: Best Film for Bonsai by Borgy Torre III, Special Jury Prize for Blogog by Milo Tolentino, Best Director for Dexter Cayanes for Musa, and Best Screenplay for Mark Philipp Espina for Behind Closed Doors. The Audience Choice award in this category was garnered by Nico Hernandez for Tatang.