LAST year’s Cinemalaya winner for best director and best film (“Halaw”), Sheron Dayoc, made it to the Screenwriters’ Lab of the Sundance Film Festival.
“Satra,” a script he co-wrote with “Halaw” producer Lilit Reyes, was chosen for the five-day writers’ workshop.
Zamboanga-based Dayoc told Inquirer Entertainment that he made it to the Script Lab “mainly because of ‘Halaw,’” which he submitted as a reel/portfolio.
“Satra” is about a woman weaver who struggles to survive as she straddles a war-torn land and the world of spirits.
“It was unexpected,” Dayoc told the Inquirer. “We barely had time to beat the deadline. I’m thankful to Lilit and our script assistant John Bedia.”
He looks at Sundance as “a chance to present the stories of Mindanao” to a global audience.
Dayoc said: “It was inspired by my documentary, ‘A Weaver’s Tale.’ I am happy that regional filmmakers are now active … There are many gems outside of Manila.”
Creative risk-taking
According to the Sundance website: The Screenwriters’ Lab allows “independent scriptwriters to work intensively on their scripts with the support of established writers in an environment that encourages innovation and creative risk-taking.”
The workshops will be held in Sundance Resort, Utah, from June 25 to 30.
Dayoc is the only Filipino in his batch as most of the workshop participants are from the United States. Among the foreign participants are filmmakers from Mexico, Algeria, Israel and Romania.
The participants will be guided by creative advisors through one-one-one story sessions, according to Reyes.
Among this year’s creative advisors are Sundance founder and actor Robert Redford, Oscar-winning actress Sally Field and “Twilight” director Catherine Hardwicke, among others.
“It’ll be an exciting learning process,” said Dayoc. “I can choose my mentor and the list reads like a ‘who’s who’ in the US filmmaking scene.”
“This is just the beginning of our script’s journey,” Reyes noted. “I know Sundance will take care of our baby and see it grow into a fully produced film.”
Noteworthy projects supported by Sundance Institute in the past were Darren Aronofsky’s “Requiem for a Dream,” Kimberly Pierce’s “Boys Don’t Cry,” Walter Salles’ “Central Station” and Quentin Tarantino’s “Reservoir Dogs.”