Congratulations are in order to the five brilliant Cordillera filmmakers for the successful screening of their films at the 35th Gawad Alternatibo Festival sponsored by the Cultural Center of the Philippines and Gawad Alternatibo.
These gifted filmmakers are Giullienne Sanchez for 10,000 Errors, Jaime Morados for Aga-hiw The Dreamer, Red Aquino for This Day, Lynette Grace Carantes-Bibal for Pengsasan, and Angelo Espanol Aurelio for Operation Pukis.
This is the second year Cinemata is partnering with CCP for the Alternatibong Pelikula at Video.
An estimated 350 films will be streamed on Cinemata starting Aug. 17 offering a diverse genre of alternative films.
CCP head for film, broadcast and new media division and organizer of Gawad Alternatibo Mae Urtal Caralde said: “This is an avenue and ideal option for hosting Gawad Alternatibo films as it is a free and secure platform that highlights essential social issue films. We want to make sure that all 350 entries are accessible to the public, including Filipinos from the provinces and international audiences keen on watching alternative films from the Philippines.”
Gawad Alternatibo was founded in 1987 and is one of the longest-running film competitions in Asia.
The films from Montañosa Film Festival were showcased during the Lakbay Sine Pasalubong at Tanghalang Ignacio Gimenez on Aug. 8. The theme for this year’s Gawad Alternatibo is “Paghahabi” or weaving.
Kidlat Tahimik (Eric Oteyza de Guia), the National Artists for Film is the “Father of Independent Films” or indio-genius films. He is attuned to focusing on your “sariling dwendes”.
His independent film “Mababangong Bangungot” or Perfumed Nightmare won the International Critics Award at the Berlin Film Festival. Tahimik is a film director, writer and actor and father of three equally talented artists Kidlat (+), Kawayan and Kabunyan.
“Aga-hiw the dreamer” by Morados is a fantastical, satirical, romantic comedy narrating the travails of. a star who works in a galactic real estate agency and. falls in love with a human, but is held back because of. the galactic rules.
“10,000 Errors” by Sanchez is about a satanic virus that was placed within the walls of Purgatory. Those who register 10,000 errors and above are vulnerable to the disease. This film plays on the mysteries of the afterlife and crosses the borders of life and death, of heaven and hell, and of being powerful and being powerless.
“This Day” by Aquino is about a slice of college life. It was featured in the 1stMontanosa Festival sponsored by the Film Development Council of the Philippines.
“Pengsasan” by Bibal is a film that pays tribute to Carantes-Bibal’s Ibaloy ancestry. “A microcosm of her peoples’ responses throughout history spawned by a pandemic recalled, and retold in the present urban times.”
And lastly, “Operation Pukis” (Haircut for a Cause) by Angelo Espanol Aurelio is a heart warming community story that sheds light on the struggles of night club entertainment workers, beauty salon haircutters and other small scale industry workers.
There is a special section in Gawad Alternatibo called the Gawad Alternatibo Classics which “features the works of renowned alternative filmmakers and Gawad Alternatibo Hall of Famers, such as Nick Deocampo, Raymond Red, Roxlee, Cesar Hernando, and Kidlat Tahimik, providing a glimpse of the rich history of alternative filmmaking.” — Stella Maria L. de Guia
