Pamilya Ordinaryo by Eduardo Roy, Jr., a compelling portrait of teen age street dwellers and their desperate search for their kidnapped baby scooped five major awards while veteran actor Tommy Abuel was named Best Actor for his role as a man tormented by his past in Dagsin by Renato ‘Atom’ Magadia, Jr. at the 12th Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival Awards Night on Aug. 14 at the Cultural Center of the Philippines Main Theater.
Pamilya Ordinaryo won Best Film, Best Direction, Best Performance of an Actress, Best Editing and the NETPAC Award in the full length category. Besting eight films in the full length feature category, the film was lauded “for its strong sense of realism, the mix of narrative and the use of real CCTV footage combine to make it more gritty and dramatically powerful…” while NETPAC praised it “for its grim but engaging narrative about a non-ordinary family…” As Best Film winner, Pamilya Ordinaryo won P350,000.00 cash award and the Cinemalaya Balanghai trophy.
Eduardo Roy, Jr. was cited for his masterful control of his work and for creating a clear vision for his powerful story. This is Roy’s third time around at Cinemalaya. In 2013 Cinemalaya, he won major awards, including the Special Jury Prize for Quick Change that went on to earn critical success internationally. He debuted at Cinemalaya with Bahay Bata in 2011.
Hasmine Killip won Best Actress for her role as Jane, the 16-year-old mother of infant Arjan. Killip was cited “for her brilliant, gritty and moving performance as a young teenage girl living in the street jungle of Manila.”
Carlos Francisco Manatad won Best Editing and was cited for “precision and a relentless rhythm that maintains the momentum of a hopeless search for a missing child.”
Multi-awarded actor Tommy Abuel added another feather to his cap with his outstanding performance in Dagsin by Renato Magadia, Jr. In the film, Abuel plays an aging and newly widowed judge who spends his days bound to a wheelchair and held hostage by his past. Abuel was cited “for an extraordinary performance that is the soul of the film. From the very first frame, till the last image, all we see is his soul’s torment…”
Mercury is Mine by Jason Paul Laxamana won the Special Jury Prize and Best Screenplay awards. The film was cited for its “deft balance of comedy, drama and dark satire” and its screenplay, written by the director, Laxamana, was praised for exploring multiple themes of acceptance and rejection of the other within a delicious context of food and film. Pokwang stars in the film as Carmen, the cook and owner of an eatery at the foothills of Arayat in Pampanga while her Mercury, played by Bret Jackson, is the young American who waits on tables.
Tuos by Roderick Cabrido, which starred Nora Aunor, won five awards for Best Cinematography (Mycko David), Best Production Design (Steff Dereja), Best Sound (Monoxide Works), Best Original Music Score (Jema Pamintuan), and Audience Choice.
Lollie Mara for Ang Bagong Pamilya ni Ponching tied with Elizabeth Oropesa for I America for the Best Supporting Actress award.
The Best Supporting Actor award was given to the ensemble cast of Hiblang Abo consisting of Lou Veloso, Jun Urbano, Leo Rialp, and
. The jury decided “no one actor is better than the others––they all build a group.”
Now on its 12th year, Cinemalaya has supported and promoted the production of 127 full feature independent films and 106 short films. Many of these films have won awards in local and international competitions and festivals. Through the annual festival, Cinemalaya has showcased over 1,000 works by independent filmmakers including full feature films, shorts, documentaries, Filipino film classics, and art films.
Cinemalaya this year was held at the CCP and in Ayala Theaters in Greenbelt 3 and Glorietta, Makati, Fairview Terraces, TriNoma, and UP Town Center, Quezon City, Solenad, Nuvali in Sta. Rosa, Laguna and Ayala Center Cebu.
Cinemalaya is a project of the Cinemalaya Foundation, the Cultural Center of the Philippines in partnership with Ayala Malls Cinemas. Established in 2005, Cinemalaya is an all-digital film festival and competition that aims to discover, encourage and honor cinematic works of Filipino filmmakers.