Fil-Am wins Golden Globe award for best animated film

Ronald “Ronnie” del Carmen, Filipino director and cowriter of the new computer-animated Pixar film “Inside Out,” FILE PHOTO/JILSON SECKLER TIU

BEVERLY HILLS—A Pixar animation film codirected by a Filipino-American has won best animated feature at the Golden Globes at the Beverly Hilton on Sunday night (Monday in Manila).

“Inside Out,” codirected by Fil-Am Ronnie del Carmen triumphed over “Anomalisa,” “The Good Dinosaur,” “The Peanuts Movie” and “Shaun the Sheep Movie.”

“I feel so honored,” said Del Carmen, who watched the 73rd Golden Globe Awards night from his northern California residence with his wife and two children.

“I’m so lucky to be part of director Pete Docter’s team for the past five years,” he added.

The film is a colorful look at a young girl’s inner emotions.

“It felt like growing up is really hard, and that was an interesting subject to make a movie about,” Docter said in his acceptance speech.

Though Del Carmen could not make it to the event because of work commitments, he felt the excitement as he watched Docter receive the award. “I had a big smile on my face.”

It was the seventh Pixar movie to win in the 10 years since the award was created.

Dream big

Del Carmen said he hoped the recognition would inspire Filipinos to dream big and tell their story.

“I had dreams and aspirations just like anybody,” he said. “I concentrated on what I loved to do.

He encouraged Filipinos seeking success to work hard, keep going, be seen, show up and “seek mentors who can show you the way.”

“You also have to take risks … and start telling your story,” said Del Carmen, who was recently honored by the University of Santo Tomas as an outstanding alumnus.

He said he was very grateful to Docter and John Lasseter, Pixar Animation Studios’ chief creative officer, for supporting projects like “Inside Out,” which he described as a “unique and courageous” movie.

‘Thank you for Ronnie’

He also thanked the group behind the Golden Globes, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) and its Filipino members Ruben and Janet Nepales, for their support.

Docter, in a press briefing, described Del Carmen as a “great storyteller.”

“We’re excited we got to work with Ronnie,” he said. “He is an integral part of our team and the whole team of Pixar.”

“To the Philippines, thank you for making Ronnie del Carmen,” Docter added.

Rachel Bloom, who won the Golden Globe for best actress in a television comedy or musical for her role in the musical comedy-drama series “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend,” told the Inquirer she appreciated learning about Filipino culture on the show.

Filipino culture

Bloom plays the role of Rebecca Bunch, a Manhattan lawyer who follows her high school boyfriend Josh Chan, a Filipino-American, to West Covina, a Los Angeles suburb with a large population of Fil-Ams.

The series made history after portraying a Filipino family’s Thanksgiving dinner for the first time on American television.

“We realized that no one has ever made an effort to show a Filipino family on an American show,” she said.

Pete Docter, left, and Jonas Rivera pose in the press room with the award for best motion picture – animated for “Inside Out” at the 73rd annual Golden Globe Awards on Sunday, Jan. 10, 2016, at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, Calif. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)

“It has taught me a lot about Filipino culture,” Bloom said. “It also taught me about how important diversity is. America is a melting pot and I don’t think this has been acknowledged as much as it should.”

Fil-Am achievers

HFPA’s Janet Nepales, who wore a Michael Cinco gown, said she was proud to bring the media and Fil-Am achievers, including filmmakers, tourism promoters and fashion designers, to the prestigious Hollywood event to represent the Philippines.

“It’s always nice to have the Philippines represented in a Hollywood establishment because you bring the perspective of other countries, not just the rich nations,” said Ruben Nepales, the first Filipino chair of the HFPA board.

Among the Fil-Ams at the event was Oliver Tolentino, who was recently in the news for helping Miss Universe Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach win her crown when he sent her gowns for the crucial preliminary competition, following a last-minute plea of the Miss Philippines team.

Hope for Filipinos

Tolentino was accompanied by his business manager Andrew Caruthers. Also at the event was renowned dermatologist Tess Mauricio and her husband James Lee, filmmaker Senedy Que and Jose “Boboi” Costas, a grass-roots tourism and heritage conservation advocate.

“Being here gives me hope that Filipino filmmakers can also make it big in Hollywood,” said Que, a multiawarded movie and TV screenwriter whose film credits include cowriting “Small Voices,” the 2002 Oscar entry of the Philippines in the best foreign language film category.