Swap 2nd prize at Indonesia fest

MANILA, Philippines - Swap, the crime-drama directed by Remton Siega Zuasola (photo), bagged the Silver Hanoman Award (Second Best Asian Film Feature) in the Asian Feature Program of the 10th Jogja-NETPAC Asian Film Festival held in Yogjakarta, Indonesia.

Starring Dionne Monsanto, Matt Daclan and Mon Confiado, Swap tells the story of “a young father torn between solving a crime and committing another when his only son is kidnapped and the only way to get back is to kidnap another child in exchange for the life of his son.”    

The Golden Hanoman Award (Best Asian Film) went to Cambodian Son by Masahiro Sugano of Cambodia. Eight other films competed in the Asian Feature Program.

Some 159 films from 23 countries were featured in the festival including three Philippine short films in the Light of Asia Program: Ang mga Alingawngaw sa Panahon ng Pagpapasya (Echoes in the Midst of Indecision) by Hector Barreto Calma (Competition); Mga Handuraw sa Kahilitan (Daydreams of Wilderness) by Amaya Han and Impas (Settlement) by Elvert de la Cruz Bañares (both Non-Competition).

A native of Tisa, Cebu City, Zuasola won the Best Director award for Ang Damgo ni Eleuteria in the 34th Gawad Urian in 2011. The film also got the Best Picture, Best Cinematography (for Christian Linaban) and Best Music (for Jerrold Tarog) awards.

Swap was one of the five official entries in the 2015 Sinag Maynila Film Festival, a collaboration between Brillante Mendoza and Wilson Tieng’s Solar Entertainment Group, held last March.