As the saying goes, the third time’s a charm.
After two instances of rescheduling the 18th edition of the CineMapúa student film festival—the first postponement due to the Taal volcano eruption in January, and the second one during the Covid-19 pandemic and the resulting quarantine—organizers from Mapúa University’s School of Media Studies (SMS) finally decided to hold its screenings and pushed through with its awards night online.
SMS Dean Benny Agapito disclosed that this year was especially challenging with the event suspensions and the organizers had to adjust to the trying times. “This online platform serves as a unique festival, but we find it very interesting because it tests our technical capacity to deliver the real purpose of CineMapúa—which is to showcase the films of the students and appreciate the value of filmmaking.”
Award-winning filmmaker and broadcast journalist Joseph Israel Laban, who chaired this year’s CineMapúa jury, was “impressed by the diversity of subject matter and points of view.” He revealed that few films stood out above the rest. “The creative choices by some of the young filmmakers were quite impressive as evidenced by the nuance of their characters and narratives,” he added.
School and family problems
In the All Mapúanscategory, which is exclusive to students from Mapúa’s Intramuros and Makati campuses, Kurok topped the field. Written and directed by Mico Tagulalac, it zeroes in on a first-year high school student’s travails to memorize her report about the female reproductive system while her father gets ready for an upcoming cockfight.
Kurok won the Cardinal Excellence Film Award (CineMapúa 2020 overall winner), Cardinal Gold Film Award, Best Direction, Best Screenplay, Best Cinematography (in a tie with Last 2, 3, 4), Best Film Editing (in a tie with Cumming of Age), and Best Performance by an Actress for Angeline Andoy.
Aside from tying with Kurok for the Best Cinematography award, Last 2, 3, 4 by Genevieve Ofiana also got the Cardinal Silver Film Award, Most Viewed Film award, and Best Sound and Musical Scoring. It tells the story of a senior student cheerleader who is down to his last performance for his alma mater.
Proj. Imakulada by Jan Michael Bernardino shared the Cardinal Bronze Film Award with Zulu by Jason Villegas. The former, which is about a young woman who has the opportunity of living in the 70’s and the 21st century, also got the Gender-Sensitive Film Award, while the latter, which is told from the point of view of a soldier who acts as his squad team leader, also nabbed Best Production Design.
Apart from sharing the Best Film Editing award, Cumming of Age also took home the Best Performance by an Actor for Roco Sanchez. It focuses on an aspiring writer who conquers his own story.
Frances Irish Villaflor’s Angkla brought home the Best Film Teaser and Best Film Poster while Kung Sino Ako by Theophany Dionisio from Mapúa Senior High School won Best Original Soundtrack.
Language and mental health concerns
Far Eastern University brought home the largest haul of the awards outside the host school with Amanung Sisuan (Breastfed Language) directed by Neo Torres and Dok by Thirdy Rivera, both from the FEU Department of Communication, and Malapit Na, Nay! (Almost There, Mother!) by Dan Verzosa from FEU Senior High School leading the winners in the other CineMapúa categories.
Amanung Sisuan, which is about a young woman’s dysfunctional relationship with her mother, bagged the Cardinal Gold Film Award and Best Sound and Musical Scoring in the Collegiate Category, which is for tertiary students from all universities and colleges in Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao.
Meanwhile, Garing directed by Dan Pablo from University of Santo Tomas won the Cardinal Silver Film Award, Best Direction, Best Screenplay, Best Production Design, and Best Original Soundtrack. In the short film, a mother is made to choose between her faith and her son.
On the other hand, Dok, which is about a psychiatrist who tries to seek help for her mental health illness, got the Cardinal Bronze Film Award along with Best Cinematography, Best Film Editing, and Best Performance by an Actress for Chanel Latorre, a mainstay in the GMA-7 soap opera Prima Donnas.
Transcending gender stereotypes
Plus.Minus by Lester Cristal from De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde won Most Viewed Film, Gender-Sensitive Film Award, and Best Performance by an Actor for Russell Vingno in the same category. The short film tells the story, in reverse chronological order, of an aspiring drag queen and a guy he met online, as the two find comfort in each other and create their own world out of desolated motel rooms.
Mga Sikretong Lulan ng Buwan by Joshua Egoy from University of Makati won Best Film Teaser, and Best Film Poster.
Sociopolitical issues in film
After dominating Cinemorayta and other film festivals, Malapit Na, Nay! also conquered CineMapúa by winning the Cardinal Gold Film Award, Best Cinematography, Best Film Editing, Best Sound and Musical Scoring, Best Production Design, and Best Performance by an Actress for Teri Lacayanga.
Directed by Dan Verzosa, Malapit Na, Nay! is about a mother waiting for her son to come home. It previously swept the FEU SHS competition at Cinemorayta and went on to win Best Picture, Organizer’s Choice Award, Best Trailer, and Best Actress, also for Lacayanga, at the Karapatan at Kabataan Film Festival organized by the Streets to Schools youth organization.
Almusal: Ang Tatlong Magkakapatid from MINT College got the Cardinal Silver Film Award, Best Director, Best Screenplay, and Best Performance by an Actor for Jaime Morados while Takipsilim from Siena College of Taytay received the Cardinal Bronze Film, Award, Most Viewed Film, and Best Film Teaser, in a tie with Judge Me Not from Our Lady of Caysasay Academy.
Judge Me Not also won the Best Film Poster, and Best Original Soundtrack. The Gender-Sensitive Film Award in the High School category went to Zeta Pi from Emilio Aguinaldo College-Cavite.
The CineMapúa winners for both the Collegiate and All Mapúans categories received an additional P10,000 for the Cardinal Gold Film Award for best film, P7,000 for a Cardinal Silver Film Award for 2nd prize, and P5,000 for the Cardinal Bronze Film Award for 3rd prize.
Winners for the High School category, on the other hand, will get an additional P7,000 for the Cardinal Gold Film Award for best film, P5,000 for the Cardinal Silver Film Award for 2nd prize, and P3,000 for the Cardinal Bronze Film Award for 3rd prize.
“These kids use the power of their imagination to promote the values through film production. They have the skills in using film technology as a tool for learning and information dissemination in this digital age. These young filmmakers will be the future of the film industry in the Philippines,” Agapito beamed.