Sinag Maynila unveils ‘unanimous’ choices

(From left) Allen Dizon, Angellie Sanoy and Ralston Jover

On its fourth year, Sinag Maynila has hit just the right note in choosing winners, festival director Brillante Ma Mendoza told the Inquirer. “On our first edition, one film (Lawrence Fajardo’s “Imbisibol”) dominated the awards,” he recalled. “But this year, the trophies were spread among the different entries.”

That made for a more congenial celebration on Sunday, during the awards ceremony held at Hotel Conrad in Pasay City. “Everyone went home happy in the end,” Mendoza said, adding that the jurors’ choices were “unanimous.”

“It was a quick and easy deliberation process. It was over in an hour,” recounted Mendoza, who acted as moderator in the discussion.

The lion’s share of the trophies in the main section was divided between Joselito Altarejos’ “Tale of the Lost Boys” and Ralston Jover’s “Bomba.”

Altarejos’ LGBTQ drama bagged best picture, screenplay (for May delos Reyes) and editing (Diego Marx Dobles), along with the Sinag Maynila Box Office Award. Jover’s social-realist film scored best director, cinematography (Pipo Domagas), actor (Allen Dizon) and actress (Angellie Sanoy).

Dizon and Sanoy, who previously won a special citation at the A-list Warsaw fest, said they were just as honored to get recognized in a local event.

“It’s a great feeling to receive an award in our own country,” Sanoy remarked. “All the good movies that we’ve been producing lately make me feel proud as a Filipino.”

Dizon, who also won best actor in Dhaka, agreed: “My heart is filled with happiness to be recognized in a festival in the Philippines. Hopefully, this would spark our fellow Filipinos’ interest to watch more indie films.” Dizon won best actor in Sinag Maynila’s inaugural edition for “Imbisibol.”

Jover explained that “Bomba” was a “passion project.” “With this film, we really pushed ourselves to the limit.” Noted Jover, who’s no stranger to international awards, as well: “It’s more rewarding and fulfilling” to win in our own country.

Altarejos, whose film previously scored the best feature prize in a Romanian fest, related that this victory is like coming “full circle” for him.

“I wanted this validation from our own country,” Altarejos admitted. “This honor is special because at the start of this project … I was under treatment for my bipolar condition. It proves that it is possible for people with a mental condition to remain fully functional with the proper treatment.”

Richard Somes’ “El Peste” brought home the SM People’s Choice Award and best production design (Batch 1 of the RVS Production Design Workshop).

“I am thankful to all the people who watched our small film … [and] to the organizers for opening doors to independent filmmakers,” Somes said.

Best sound went to Miko Quizon for “Abomination” and best music to Fergus Cronkite for “Melodrama/Random/Melbourne!” Odin Fernandez’s “The Duwende” won best short award, while Janine Santos’ “Mahal, 2017” snagged best documentary.

Maricel Cariaga and Albert Almendralejo’s “Journeyman Finds Home: The Simone Rota Story” copped the Jury Prize in the documentary section.

For next year’s edition, proponents are thinking of either returning to the fest’s initial concept of funding original productions or focusing on short films by student filmmakers, Mendoza said.