DAVAO CITY (PIA) — The short film “Desilya” helmed by Cagayan de Oro filmmaker Toni Cañete won the Best Film award in the recently held 21st Mindanao Film Festival in Tagum City.
One of the country’s longest running regional film festivals, this year’s Mindanao Film Festival ran from December 6 to 9 in Tagum City, Davao del Norte. It featured more than 40 short films from across the country.
Cañete, a film major at the University of the Philippines Diliman, says that despite being based in Metro Manila for her studies and to pursue her career as a filmmaker, she never severed the ties with her hometown Cagayan de Oro.
“My films have always found being a Cagayanon to be inescapable and this film Desilya is no different,” Cañete said.
Desilya is about a 16-year old balikbayan who, joined by her estranged grandmother, scours the streets of Cagayan de Oro looking for her mother.
“This film is about mothers who are first and foremost daughters and for all daughters who were born into a life of mothering,” Cañete describes the short film.
Desilya also won best screenplay (for Toni Cañete), and best actress award for (for Wally Walter).
Other awardees
The Dayo Award for the best non-Mindanaon film was given to Iloilo short film “Dog Eaters” from Kevin Piamonte, currently a professor at the Colleges of Arts and Sciences- Humanities Division,
University of the Philippines- Visayas. The short film is based on the Palanca award winning story of Dr. Leoncio Deriada of the same title.
Tagum City shot short film “Plastik” a quirky tale about two ex-lovers won awards for Best Cinematography, Best Editing and the Best Student Film Award.
The macabre horror short film “Ritwal” about a group of filmmakers documenting the last descendant of Maria Labo, the mythical aswang, won Best Director award for the film’s writer and director Conrad dela Cruz. The Davao City shot film also won the Best Production Design Award.
“The Lament of the Silent Crow” got the Best Actor prize for MJ Ong and also Best Musical Score Award.
The Bukidnon short film “Innocents” directed by Aldrin Cork won the award for Best Official Soundtrack.
Another Cañete directed short film “Dala” won the Best Sound Award. While the animation short “Stolen Gift” was given a jury prize.
Jurors for the 21st Mindanao Film Festival included past MFF festival director Rudolph Alama of the Philippine Information Agency XI, Urian award winning Mindanaon actress Fe Hyde and multi-awarded Tagumenyo filmmaker and film cinematographer Arnel Barbarona.
This year’s Mindanao Film Festival is organized by the City Government of Tagum and the Mindanao Film and Television Development Foundation Incorporated with the support of the National Commission for the Culture and the Arts (NCCA). (JBG/RGA/PIA Davao)
