Impactful. Raw. Bittersweet. If there are three words that would sum up Benilde alumnus Christian Rae Villanueva’s Ang Mga Turo Ng Gabi (The Lessons of the Night), these would be them. That’s why it’s no wonder why local and international critics are all praises for this short film.
Ang Mga Turo Ng Gabi follows the journey of Jal (Dylan Ray Talon), a student, and his teacher, Ms. Santos (Sheen Gener), as they retrieve her baby. As the night unfolds, it is revealed that Ms. Santos is suffering from postpartum depression, which is why the baby was taken from her by her estranged husband. Later on, it turns out Jal’s help was fueled by romantic feelings for his teacher.
In a span of 15 minutes, the film depicted the emotional battle new mothers go through, especially thanks to Gener’s gut-wrenching portrayal. The film also shows the struggle for acceptance and solace of a confused teenager in need of a mother figure, reflected in Jal’s actions.
Speaking to The Benildean, Villanueva, a product of the College’s Digital Filmmaking program, said the film was inspired by the stigma around issues surrounding people with depression.
“I linked together the two concepts [single-parenting and depression] because I feel like both are being looked down [upon] by society,” Villanueva, who was raised by a single mother himself, explained.
The director recounted the first screening of the film during his thesis defense, saying, “I received rave reviews from the panel of judges and up to this day I will never forget their comments. I still cannot believe that industry professionals and simple movie-goers [alike appreciate] this film.”
Accolades received, international screenings
The short film bagged silver last September 28 to 29 at the 2nd Viddsee Juree Awards. Other Benildeans in the said awards include Annika Yañez (Sa Pag-agos ng Panahon (As Time Flows By) and Ron Dulatre and Elaiza Rivera (Tayo (Stand Up). The three entries 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.
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It also made waves at the Pelikultura: The Calabarzon Film Festival—a regional film festival held last February 19 to 21—for Best Editing (Annie Chua, also a Digital Filmmaking alumna) and Best Performance (Talon).
With its raw and gritty take on such universal themes, Ang Mga Turo Ng Gabi was the only Philippine entry at the 8th Kaohsiung Film Festival (KFF) International Short Film Competition. It was placed in the official selection with 64 other films, all of which were chosen from over 3,200 entries across the globe. The said festival, which annually showcases thousands of original films from different countries, ran from October 19 to November 4.
Aside from KFF, the short film will also be featured at the Salamindanaw Asian Film Festival, a festival that aims to strengthen the ties between Mindanao and other Southeast Asian countries, which will run from November 12 to 16.
This coming December 14 to 21, Villanueva’s film will also be in the Istanbul International Short Film Festival, the longest running international short film festival in Turkey.
