CEBU – The recent Visayan film festival held in Cebu was a success and has inspired filmmakers and enthusiasts and opens a new venue for localized and regional movies.
The three-day Lilas Binisaya Film Festival was held recently at the historic Cine Oriente at Colonnade Mall.
Festival director Maria Victoria Beltran and veteran actress Pilar Pilapil led filmmakers in the opening of the festival.
In her speech, Pilapil said Cebuano singers, actors, writers, musicians, and many others have always made it big wherever they go. “If people in the international scene can recognize us, why can’t we not recognize that? I believe it’s our time, it’s God’s time,” she said.
Pilapil also said they are coming up with up a television show that will talk about Cebuanos.
The film “Ang Manok ni San Pedro” was screened on the opening of the festival followed by a forum with Provincial Board Member Julian Daan and the film’s other cast members.
Young filmmakers, students, film enthusiasts and film-goers came to support the event. The film showing was free for the public.
Beltran said “the festival is to harvest the best Cebuano films so we could bring it to a national festival which is Cinema Rehiyon.”
She said the festival is one way to promote appreciation of Cebuano films.
The best of Cebuano short films such as Saranghae My Tutuor, Doktora, and To Siomai Love were also screened during the festival, whose highlight was the short film competition where 13 different production teams vied for the grand prize of P10,000 and a one-year film grant from the Film and Media Arts International Academy.
The short films that competed were: Handumanan sa Usa ka Salida (Ivan Karol Martinez); Mga Hunahuna ni Erlinda Bayonita (Sheree Tampus); Ang Pagpangita (Aprillice Alvez); Damgo ni Magdalena (Kier Belleza); Silingan (Daniel Bautista); Hipalgan (Patricia Joy Martinez); Dream On Bai! (Hanz Florentino); Halok (Hanz Florentino); Handurawan (Jaylou Dari); Kulto (Dulcelyn Insong); Mga Patay Nga Bitoon (Andrei Karoly Hernandez); Urom (James Arthur More Oliva); and Mugna (Kristiana Sayson).
“Handurawan” bagged the Best Picture award in the competition; with “Hipalgan” as 2nd Best Picture and “Dream On Bai” as the 3rd Best Picture.The
Special award also went to “Handumanan Sa Usa Ka Salida.”
Handurawan filmmaker Jaylou Dari was named Best Director; Mary Grace Remo as Best Actress for her role in Halok and Romeo Bantugan as Best Actor in the film Dream On Bai.Best Screenplay went out to Dari and Ranin.
The film “Mula sa Kung Ano Ang Noon” directed by award-winning Lav Diaz was shown at the closing of the festival. The five-hour film won the grand prize in the 2014 Locarno International Film Festival. (Cris Lanie Delos Reyes)
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