The First Ever NuCinema: NUVALI Outdoor Film Festival

The first ever NuCinema – NUVALI Outdoor Film Festival was held today at The Fields in NUVALI Grounds, Laguna. For families like us whose children are in semestral break from school, the activity is indeed a fitting kick-off for the traditional break . We came with high expectations as the event which is similar to the once-popular drive-in theatre  in the US was new to all of us. We went home awed by the talent of Filipino filmmakers, something which may be difficult to achieve in the young today especially with the highly commercialized foreign films they are exposed to.

The Entries

The program started with the presentation of the eleven entries for the novice division and then followed by the three entries for the professional division for the NuCinema short-film competition:

NOVICE DIVISION

Bugtong

Flying

Happenstance

Jose Pedal

Maalwan

R.A.T.S. (Rise Above the Situation)

Regalo

Tayo

The Ambassador of New Living

Two Frames Awkward

Treatment

PROFESSIONAL DIVISION

Hello Goodbye

Pare Koi

Tagpo

After watching all, our family took a vote. For the novice division, 2 votes were given to “Regalo” and 2 votes were given to the entry “Tayo”. We were unanimous with our choice of  “Pare Koi” for the professional division. When the announcement of the winners came, our bets for the novice division both didn’t make it while we were proven right with our choice for the professional division.

The Official Winners are:

PROFESSIONAL DIVISION

Grand Prize: Pare Koi by Marco Subido

First Runner Up: Hello Goodbye by Zoraya Lua

NOVICE DIVISION

Grand Prize: Bugtong by Dorina Naraval

First Runner Up: Jose Pedal by Athena Mendoza

Voting is till ongoing on Facebook and YouTube for the People’s Choice Award until November 9, 2013.

Seasoned directors and producers served as judges including Paul Soriano, Jeffrey Jeturian, Jade Castro, and Lucky Blanco of Spring Films. Spring Films is an independent film production company launched in 2009 by Piolo Pascual together with Joyce Bernal, Erickson Raymundo, and Suzanne Shayne Sarte.  Spring Films may choose among the entries for a possible full-length adaptation.

The top 5 entries were awarded with a one year scholarship grant from the Asia Pacific Film Institute. This is in keeping with the competition’s aim to uplift, promote, and celebrate the local film industry while helping new talents realize their dreams of becoming filmmakers. Grand winner per category got a scholarship for advanced course in motion picture production while the runner-up per category got a scholarship for basic course for motion picture production. The winner for People’s Choice Award will get to claim a scholarship for motion picture production.

The biggest winner for the night however was the audience who was treated not only to the refreshing perspective of competition entries but also to award-winning samples of Filipino filmmaking.

Sampling of Excellent Filmmaking

The two films are certainly worth the wait. “Transit” is the Philippine’s entry for this year to the Oscar Best Foreign Language Film category. “Ekstra” is also an acclaimed independent film top-billed by movie queen Vilma Santos.

My Say

I was pleasantly surprised that my two young children enjoyed themselves in this outdoor film showing. I was actually afraid that they will request to be taken home much earlier. It would be a pity if that happened. Everything was just perfect- the place, the weather, the crowd, and the music while waiting. I have never felt this relaxed for a long time now.

It appears that my family has discovered a new form of entertainment that allows us to bond without considerable costs involved. It was really heart-warming to see families huddled among themselves on mats spread out on the field while sharing the food brought or bought. My family would definitely do this again and we’re actually hoping that outdoor film showing becomes a regular thing in our country.