‘Pan de Salawal,’ ‘Latay’ win awards in international film fests

Madeleine Nicolas (right) and Bodjie Pascua in “Pan de Salawal”

Life goes on. The Filipino artist refuses to feel affected by the pandemic. There is a need in him to create and express,” declared actress Madeleine Nicolas, who is a cast member of Che Espiritu’s drama “Pan de Salawal,” which bagged the best picture and best screenplay award at the 2020 Calella Film Festival in Spain.

“With these awards and festivals, we are reminded that there’s still hope, despite the fact that we’re experiencing hard times,” added filmmaker Ralston Jover, whose film “Latay” snatched the Gold award (main competition) at the second edition of the Wallachia International Film Festival in Bucharest, Romania.

For Madeleine, awards “bring hope. It’s a good indication that people continue to create. We are made aware that filmmakers still participate in film festivals. I feel happy when I learn that my friends in the industry win or get invited to participate in film fests abroad.”

Che Espiritu

She said this only meant that “Filipino filmmakers are still committed to sending out Filipino films where they could be seen by as many audiences as possible. It also means that whatever lull the pandemic has created was merely temporary; and that it’s time to resume creating. With what is currently happening in our country, there are a lot more stories out there that should be told.”

The film festival in Calella ran from Oct. 2 to Oct. 10. “Pan de Salawal” also participated at the 2020 Benevento Cinema and Television Film Festival in Italy last June, as well as the 8th Seoul Guro International Film Festival in Korea in July, where it won the Audience Choice award (in the World Competition category).

Allen Dizon in “Latay”

For Ralston, it’s sad that cinema-viewing has been greatly affected by the pandemic. “Latay,” starring Allen Dizon and Lovi Poe, was supposed to be screened during the Sinag Maynila Film Festival in March, but the event was canceled due to the government-imposed Luzon-wide lockdown.

“Even the festival in Cannes got canceled,” he pointed out. “But it’s good that cinema is slowly opening up in other portions of the world. When I go to malls and pass by the theaters of SM and Robinsons, I feel sad. The area looks dismal. I really hope they will recover soon. People keep saying cinema is dying. We should work together to preserve it.”

The festival in Wallachia ran from Sept. 11 to Sept. 13. Ralston said the Gold award was the festival’s counterpart of the Audience Choice award.

Ralston also reported that he would fly to Capiz province later this October to work on his latest short film, titled “Hadlok,” for the Filipino Values Short Film Festival, organized by the National Commission for Culture and the Arts.

Ralston Jover