Out of more than a hundred entries composed of animated features, documentaries, and short films, three finalists from the the College’s Digital Filmmaking program have been shortlisted to compete in the second installment of the Viddsee Juree Philippines.
Benildean film students Christian Rae Villanueva’s Ang Mga Turo ng Gabi (The Lessons of the Night), Annika Yañez’s Sa Pag-agos ng Panahon (As Time Flows By), and Ron Dulatre and Elaiza Rivera’s Tayo (Stand Up), made it to the top 10 of Viddsee Juree Philippines, which is an initiative to support filmmakers in Asia by Singapore-based online video platform Viddsee.
Dulatre and Rivera’s short drama comedy Tayo (Stand Up) revolves around Reg (Karl Medina), a struggling stand up comedian who gets help in coming up with his on-stage bits from Alyssa (Veronica Reyes), his “special friend.” Things go awry when Alyssa suddenly disappears just as Reg is about to perform the most important show of his career.
Combining Dulatre’s playful ideas from the “tragicomedy” genre and Rivera’s idea of having an imaginary friend, the two developed and established their core story, but Dulatre and Rivera constantly struggled with what jokes and bits to put in the film. Dulatre explained they had to come up with humorous yet non-offensive jokes that can connect to the audience.
“It came to a point that I tested them [the jokes] by performing [actual] stand-up comedy in front of a crowd [but] it did not work,” Dulatre told The Benildean. But after a few trial-and-errors, and with the help of another of their thesis groupmate, Joice Bay, the three were able to deliver funny yet intelligible bits.
As one of the freshly produced films from last academic term’s thesis defense, Bay explained it’s an overwhelming feeling to have their story shared on a wider platform such as Viddsee, while Dulatre feels honored to be among “Benildean giants” who have been recognized in other film competitions such as Villanueva’s Ang Mga Turo ng Gabi (The Lessons of the Night).
Meanwhile, Villanueva’s short film centers around Juanita (Sheenly Vee Gener), a teacher who struggles with postpartum depression, who teams up with one of her students (Dylan Ray Talon) to take back her baby.
In an interview with Viddsee, Villanueva explained the film tackles mental illness, which sadly still has a negative stigma among Filipinos, as well as the hardships and the lengths that mothers go through to show their unconditional love. Furthermore, the film is Villanueva’s personal love letter to all single mothers as he was raised by one.
Another film that’s close to the heart of its director and writer, Yañez’s Sa Pag-agos ng Panahon (As Time Flows By) is a story of family and acceptance as it follows Trish (Chase Salazar), a lesbian who struggles to have her traditional Filipino father (Nestor Mata) accept who she is as well as her partner (Mina Cruz).
As Yañez teamed up with her thesis partner Janna Lejano, the film’s cinematographer and editor, the two admittedly had difficulties on agreeing on a particular concept they would pursue and develop together. It’s only after writing their own separate stories and then sharing with one another that they struck gold.
“It was something very personal to her [Yañez] and it had a lot of heart. I’m so happy to have told this story and share [this film] with everyone,” Lejano said in an interview.
The two are also ecstatic their film was able to be part of the top ten finalists out of the numerous entries and participants and thus having a shot at the top awards. Given that the competition provide a production grant, the two are planning to produce another short film that they can be proud of sharing to the people.
Audiences will have a chance to see the three Benildean films along with the other finalists during the screenings organized by Viddsee on September 28 at the Cinematheque Centre Manila, while Viddsee Film Talks on screenwriting, post production, and short filmmaking will be held at the School of Design and Arts Campus, 12F Cinema on the same day. Free screenings of other Viddsee films will also be conducted from September 26 to 27 at the Cinematheque Centre Manila.
According to their website, Viddsee will have its Awarding Ceremony on September 29 at the Cinematheque Centre Manila and present a Silver and Gold award to two films and each will receive a grand prize of Php 80,000 and Php 160,000 respectively as a production grant for the making of a short film plus microphone and audio accessories from Australian microphone company RODE. In addition to the production grant and audio equipment, the Motion Picture Association shall offer the Gold award winner a five-day Global Film and TV Program course in Los Angeles, USA “designed to provide an exclusive and informative introduction to the Hollywood film and television history.”
Other finalists this year include Ah by AJ Virtuz, Divine XY by Ruelo Zendo, Ginhawa by Christian Lat, Ikaw ang Tala, Ako ang Gabi (You Are the Star to My Night) by Brian Spencer Reyes, Sa Ngalan ng Ama (In the Name of the Father) by Patrick Rodil, Sina Igme at Gani (Igme and Gani) by Ma. Jhayle Ann Marie, and Susing by Bea Felix.
All entries, both in and out of the competition, can be viewed here.
