‘Eternity,’ ‘Hypothalamus’ and ‘Delia’ top CineFilipino 2018 awards

Winners and organizers celebrate after the 2018 CineFilipino awards night. Photo by Bayani San Diego Jr.

Alec Figuracion’s “The Eternity Between Seconds” won the top prize at the 2018 CineFilipino film festival, besting seven other entries in the main tilt.

The best film winner, which tells the story of two travelers (TJ Trinidad and Yeng Constantino) stuck in an airport in Incheon, South Korea, also scored best director and editing for Figuracion, along with best cinematography for Rommel Sales and best sound design for Junel Valencia.

Figuracion dedicated the honor to his team who worked nonstop in Korea, from 7 a.m. to10 p.m. for seven straight days. “I couldn’t have done it without them,” he quipped, during his speech at the ceremony held at the Kia Theatre in Cubao Quezon City on May 12.

Dwein Baltazar’s loving ode to Manila, “Gusto Kita With All My Hypothalamus,” won second runnerup best film, while Therese Cayaba’s senior  rom-com “Delia & Sammy” bagged the third runnerup best film.

The acting honorees were led by the “Delia & Sammy” cast: best actress went to Rosemarie Gil, best actor to Jaime Fabregas and best supporting actor to Nico Antonio.

Best ensemble was awarded to the cast of “Gusto Kita With All My Hypothalamus,” which top bills Iana Bernardez, daughter of award-winning actress Angel Aquino. “Hypothalamus” also brought home the best production design (Marxie Maolen Fadul) and best music (Myka Magsaysay-Sigua and Paul Sigua) honors.

Ritz Azul won the best supporting actress award for her work in Rod Marmol’s “Mata Tapang.” Meanwhile, best screenplay was clinched by Alpha Habon for “Mga Mister ni Rosario.”

“It’s a mix of surprising and expected winners,” festival director Madonna Tarrayo told the Inquirer.

CineFilipino, now on its third year, seeks to prove that artistic excellence doesn’t have to be incompatible with audience accessibility.

“We’ve always believed that each film has its own audience,” Tarrayo remarked. The ultimate goal is “to keep discovering new talents,” she said.

“We need young and new artists to keep the industry growing,” head of competition Jose Javier Reyes asserted.

There are two important developments this year, Reyes pointed out, the dominance of “new voices and stronger female filmmakers.”

Two of the three best entries are by women, he asserted. “These are passion projects.”

In the Short Films competition, the winners are: Student category: Best Short Film is Tim Rone Villanueva’s “Santa Nena,” while Giano Ray Potes’ “Mark and Leni”  is first runnerup; Open category: Best Short Film is Stephen Lopez’s “Gabi ng Kababalaghan,” while Jarell Serencio’s “Siyudad sa Bulawan” is first runnerup.

The first Super Shorts Best film award was won by Avelino Balmes’ “Orlie.” /cbb

Big winners at the 2018 CineFilipino awards night. Photo by Bayani San Diego Jr.