Two films by Zamboangueño independent film directors, who are alumni of ADZU, made it as finalists to the 6th Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival.
Sheron Dayoc, AB Philosophy alumnus of batch 2002, won the Best Director award. His movie, Halaw, of which he was the writer and producer, won the Best Film award in the New Breed full-length feature category. Halaw was distinguished “for its timely depiction of the rigors and dangers that Filipinos go through in order to reach Sabah in search of greener pastures, its mastery of the elements of filmmaking and meaningful narrative, and its powerful herald that Mindanao cinema has come of age.” Dayoc’s movie also won Best Performance of an Actor (John Arcilla) and Best Editing (Lester Olager and Chuck Gutierrez).
Also, Alistaire Christian “Zurich” Chan, BS MassComm 2009 alumnus, brought his movie, Boca, to the prestigious circle of ten finalists out of 68 qualified entries for the New Breed short film category. Along with him was Dexter Denison dela Peña, BS MassComm 2009 alumnus and a faculty of the MassComm Department, the editor and cinematographer of Boca. Chan and dela Peña were the director/writer and cinematographer/editor of the ADZU Centennial Video respectively.
Chan and Dayoc made history as this is the first time that two movies from the same place made it as finalists to both the short film and full length categories, bringing honor to Zamboanga City. Along with dela Peña and other ADZU alumni, they also produced films like “Trails of Water” and “Angan-Angan”, which were also finalists in Cinemalaya in 2008.
Cinemalaya Competition and Festival is an all-digital film festival that aims to discover, encourage and honor cinematic works of independent Filipino filmmakers. Cinemalaya is a project of the Cinemalaya Foundation, the Cultural Center of the Philippines, the Film Development Council of the Philippines and Econolink Investments. This year’s filmfest ran from July 9-19. The awarding ceremony was held on July 18, 2010 at the Cultural Center of the Philippines’ Tanghalang Nicanor Abelardo.
