Cinemalaya

The 6^th Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival was held at the Cultural Center of the Philippines on 9-18July 2010.  The screenings and events on July 14 were cancelled due to power outage caused by the typhoon.   There are three competition categories:  the New Breed with 9 entries, the Directors’ Showcase with 5 entries from established directors; and the Short Films category with 10 entries.   For the New Breed, the Best Picture award went to Halaw by Sheron Dayoc, a filmmaker from Mindanao.  The Jury Prize went toSampaguita by Francis Xavier Pasion.   For the Directors’ Showcase, the Best Picture Award went to Donor by Mark Meily and the Jury Prize to Two Funerals by Gil Portes.  The other senior directors who joined the Showcase were Mario O’Hara, Joel Lamangan, and Joselito Altarejos.   The Best Picture Award for the Short Films Category went to Pam Miras for ‘Wag Kang Titingin (Don’t Look) and the Jury Prize went to Milo Tolentino for P.   There were originally 6 entries for the NETPAC Award; however, one entry – Muli (Once More) by Adolf Alix, Jr. – was disqualified since it was not finished before the final deliberation of the jury.  The NETPAC jury was unanimous in giving the award to Arnel Mardoquio, another filmmaker from Mindanao, for his film Sheika “for its strong dramatic flow, convincing performances, effective use of cinematic elements, and  its treatment of the social, political, and economic problems in the country.”