As part of an 18-day campaign to end Violence Against Women (VAW), the Cine Juana Digital Shorts Competition showcased 15 finalists submitted by senior high school and college students across the country at the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC) in Pasay City last Nov. 25.
The competition was open to three categories that advocated to end VAW. The #LigtasSiJuana category focused on the provisions of the Safe Spaces Act and the change that this brings for the safety of women. #JuanParaKayJuana highlights the role of men and boys in ending VAW while #LabanJuana consists of stories that empower women to seek help and take a stand against VAW. Three winners were awarded per category, with five Benildeans bagging second place under #LigtasSiJuana.
Benilde’s 4+1 Productions’ took home second place for their film “Tindahan.” Meanwhile, “How to Pick Up Chicks” by 5ML Productions (Asia Pacific College) placed first in the category and EMCinema’s (Technological Institute of the Philippines-Manila) “Mulat” placed third.
4+1 Productions is composed of Benilde Digital Filmmaking students Fern Santos, director, writer and colorist; Grae Dela Cruz, writer and editor; Sophia Repuyan, production manager and actress; Vynce Ong, writer and production assistant; and Seung Hong, director of photography. Through its heartwarming and powerful message, the production was awarded Php 35,000 for their short film that lasts three and a half minutes.
Tindahan’s story revolved around Miko (Liam Loquias) who was concerned about his sister’s (Sophia Repuyan) strange behavior. He then makes a move to make their community a safer place for women in his own way, inspired by the Safe Spaces Act.
Product of passion
In an interview with The Benildean, they shared that this victory was a complete surprise to the whole group.
”We didn’t expect that [the film] would bear more fruit, but then, it did. Winning second place was really unexpected to say the least. We even thought that we wouldn’t even make it to the final screening, but we did. Seeing our film flash through the projector in front of 400 people at PICC validated our work—it validated our dreams in the field of filmmaking. At that point, we knew that we had created something worth watching,” Santos said, emphasizing on the power of youth in making a change to the society.
Meanwhile, production assistant and writer Ong also shared the winning part was just a bonus; for their main goal was to spread awareness.
“We hope that those who watched our film took something from it and will turn it into something positive that can help make the streets safer for women. […] We were so excited to find out that we got to contribute to PCW’s advocacy to end street harassment through our film,” Ong said.
Moreover, the theme resonated with the group’s advocacy in creating an impactful story to its audience. Writer and editor Dela Cruz explained that most women experience street harassment and catcalls—this flickered the idea on their story plot.
