(Festival directors Arlyn dela Cruz and Vic Vizcocho Jr. present a special award to SBMA chair Wilma Eisma. Photo by Malou Dungog)
SUBIC BAY FREEPORT — Kids of War, which portrayed the hardship and trauma of Filipinos in World War II, won the best picture award at the recently concluded Subic Bay International Film Festival (SBIFF).
Directed by Mike P. Silva and starring Richard Quan and Ronwaldo Martin, Kids of War poignantly depicted how war could either tear families apart or bond them stronger still.
The film outvoted four other entries: Tell Me Your Dreams, Rendezvous, 1957, and Jesusa.
Meanwhile, the other top awards went to Ronwaldo Martin who won as best actor, and Aiko Melendez (Tell Me Your Dreams) and Sylvia Sanchez (Jesusa) who tied for the best actress title.
Also honored in the festival were: Hubert Tibi (1957), who won the award for best director; Richard Quan (1957), best supporting actor; Ynez Veneracion (Jesusa), best supporting actress; Hubert tibi (1957), best screenplay; Arvin Viola (Tell Me Your Dreams), best cinematography; Gibert Obispo (Kids of War), best film editing; and Jimmy Tablizo and Roland Robenecia (Kids of War), best production design.
Aside from regular awards, the organizers also gave a special recognition to two child actors for outstanding performances: Shane Patrick Carrera (Kids of War) and Rose Galang, who played the role of an Ayta boy (Tell Me Your Dreams).
Film Entries
Six independent films initially made the cut for this year, but one was dropped due to problems with festival requirement, said SBIFF festival director and managing partner Vic V. Vizcocho, Jr.
This was the Andi Eigenmann- starrer The Maid in London which was directed by BL Panganiban.
The remaining five films were shown for free public viewing at Cinema Four of the Harbor Point Ayala Mall here, where fans and movie-goers queued for tickets hours before screening time.
Tell Me Your Dreams tells the story of a teacher who volunteered to be assigned at an Ayta village. It was directed by Anthony Hernandez.
Rendezvous is a fantasy love-drama-comedy directed by Marvin Gabas, with stars Jiana Aurigue and Gina Pareño.
1957 tells about the struggles of farmers who did not own the land they tilled. It was written and directed by Hubert Tibi.
On the other hand, Jesusa is a story of the social struggles of a wife and mother, played by Sanchez under the direction of Ronaldo C. Carballo, who also penned the story.
Special Honors
The awards night held on June 23 was a star-studded event, with superstar and veteran actress Nora Aunor receiving a lifetime achievement award from the SBIFF organizers.
Another guest of honor, Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) chairman and administrator Wilma T. Eisma, was given a special citation for her support to the Subic film festival project.
Commenting on the festival theme of “Riding the Waves,” Eisma noted that the film entries exhibited the resiliency of Filipinos: “We can weather storms, typhoons, and volcanoes. We can rise though all those waves and come out successful.”
“This serves as a challenge to all of us, to ride the waves no matter what happens,” Eisma added. “To be up there in the waves when things go wrong. To stand strong. To stand brave.”
The SBIFF was established last year to provide a platform for local filmmakers to create their art and to refocus the attention of the international filmmaking industry to the Subic Bay Freeport.
