My favorite part of Animahenasyon is the screening of the animation entries that will be competing for the grand prize. The screening were held at the Arrupe Auditiorium of Ateneo de Naga University from November 23-25, between 4:30 to 8:30 PM. The screening were divided into 8 competition programs. Here's the list of the competition programs and the categories.

Competition Program - Categories
1 - A (1-5 minutes, Professional); E (Music Videos, Professional); F (Title Sequences, OBB, Infomercials, TVC's, Demo Reels 30 seconds to 1minute, Professional)
2 - B (6-20 minutes, Professional)
3 - D (full-length, Professional)
4 - H part 1 (1-5 minutes, Student); K (Music Videos, Student)
5 - H part 2 (1-5 minutes, Student); L (Title Sequences, OBB, Infomercials, TVC's, Demo Reels 30 seconds to 1minute, Student)
6 - D (full-length, Professional)
7 - I part 1 (6-20 minutes, Student)
8 - I part 2 (6-20 minutes, Student)

Aside from the competition entries, there were also 3 special screenings that were shown before the competition programs. The first is an exhibition program titled "Persistence of Vision", a panorama of selected animation from 2006-2010. The next special program are selected works from the Gobelins, L'ecole De L'image's Animation Department. You can watch some of their works in their Youtube page here. And the last is a special program that showcased the award-winning entries from the 13th Japan Media Arts Festival.

I really loved the works of the students from Gobelins which are really professionally done. Gobelins is truly a high-standard school for animation and their works are simply the best. Anyways, as we were watching the entries, i have a list in hand and i marked my favorites. Here are my faves:

When Alma Died (H)
Mystery of the 24th (I)
Mga Damgo (Dreams) (B)
Kaligayahan (A)
Smog (A)
Sulundon (Hero) (B)
Impeng Negro (B)
A Day in the Life of Inday (A)
Sabong (H)
Bizarre Love Triangle (K)
Swan Song (F)
Pasintabi Opening title sequence (F)
First (H)
Toy Bully (H)
Cogwheel (H)
Bleek (I)
Eskeyp da Peyt (I)
Nestle Smarties (L)
Leftover teaser (L)
A Tower: Techy Boy (L)
Close-Up TVC (L)

I missed competition program 6 and 7 so i can't say which are my faves on that program. But i heard that Kapitan Torpe was hilarious. Above all the entries i really salute the makers of the first seven that i listed from above. They were really exceptional in terms of aesthetics and storytelling. And finally here are the winners according to their categories:

A - Smog by Jerome Alcordo
B - Mga Damgo (Dreams) by Remton Zuasola
D - Kapitan Torpe by Antonio Jose Cadiz
H - When Alma Died by Richmond Wesley Ruiz Tan
L - Close-Up TVC by Macelo Munoz
I - The Mystery of the 24th by Julian Santiago
K - Upuan by Maureen Romero

Special Awards:

Hero TV - Mga Damgo (Dreams) by Remton Zuasola
Audience Choice - Close-Up TVC by Macelo Munoz
Lifetime Achievement Award - Roxlee (see photo above)

Grand Prize:

When Alma Died by Richmond Wesley Ruiz Tan (DLSU-CSB)


Aside from the animation competition, there was also a Poster making competition for Animahenasyon 2011. It was open to all and had an earlier deadline. I gave it a shot and I won! :D Here's my poster design titled "AnimaDreams" and a photo of me giving my speech!


Congratulations to all winners and all the organizers for a successful year of Animahenasyon. We are truly on the way to achieve the goals of the Philippine Animation Industry. By encourging filipinos to develop their own content, we are harvesting the best of the talents that we are really proud of. Next year will be another great year. I hope that there will be more entries, not only in quantity but also in terms of quality. Thanks to Sir Mike and Ate Jzel for keeping in touch with me. See you in Animahenasyon 2011!

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Credits to Gerard Asay for the photos!

Day 2 of Animahenasyon started with a Webinar with one of the most respected filipino animator in the industry. He is the assistant director of our favorite animated series, The Simpsons and won an Emmy for its episode titled "The Simpsons - Eternal Moonshine of the Simpsons Mind". He is Mr. Jess Española, a full-blooded filipino raised in Pampanga and finished his studied at University of the Philippines with a degree in Fine Arts.

Mr Jess gave an inspiring speech about his life. In his childhood years, life hasn't been easy on him. He cannot afford going to school and his only dream was education. With his perseverance, he was able to graduate while working part time making drawings and using his raw talent. In high school he served as the school artist. He is known for his creativity and sheer talent in drawing. Because of that he decided to take Fine Arts in college, graduated and worked.

His big break was given to him when he was sent to America. He didn't have any type of portfolio but still worked hard to impress his boss. Indeed, Jess was an excellent animator and proved to be one through years of hard work and constant improvement and adjustment to his new home. Now, Jess is the assistant director of the show The Simpsons which is famous for depicting an all-American family with a lot of culture, social commentaries with a great sense of humor. He said that the show is very popular not because of its intricate animation and effects but because of the way how they tell the story.

We had a forum and a very interactive chat with Mr Jess while he is live in America. One of the most important discussion was about the Philippine Animation Industry. What he observed is that Philippine Animators are no doubt very talented. In fact, many animation companies outsource animators here in country for its talent and easy communication since Filipinos are English speakers too. However, it has been years since Filipinos have been working for Filipinos but we never had our identity of our own. America is known for its Disney style and other types of animation. Japan has Anime and European countries are very excellent in animation like France. Philippines is a hub of talent but we didn't have the opportunity to develop our own style of Animation. Many suggested that the government should take part like what Japan and France did. To have the top quality of animation, we should have the bests of teachers, students, artists, animators, directors, writers, and all the technical expertise. But only few companies can do that here.

Talking about developing our own style of animation, Mr Jess expressed that in order to do that, we must not copy the western style or japanese style of storytelling or animation but rather serve an inspiration or create a hybrid with our own style that we can create out of our own culture. We must start by developing the local animation industry like producing animated series or shorts that reflect our own culture and that can really tickle the Filipino audience using our own stories and talents. When the local animation is fully matured and has its identity, the international audience will soon notice and appreciate it since they always look for something new or strange to them like what we have. It our task to discover it and make it a reality but we have to really focus and commit to it. However, we cannot do it on our own because of the lack of support of our government and local investors. TV station would rather subscribe to foreign animations and the government does not really see the potential of the industry.

That's me in blue jacket. haha

Mr. Jess admitted that the local animation is still way behind in terms of story telling and technicalities. Even the first few full-length animated films that we had is not quite "there" yet. He even had criticisms about some details but still he is trying to be positive. He is very supportive of the industry here and is very willing to spare his time whenever we need it.

We really had fun during the talk and he said that he was really enjoying having the conversation with us. Even though he stayed in US for years he was speaking Tagalog with us and he admitted that he still finds difficulty in speaking English. He is also a great sense of humor which his boss and colleagues really like about him. Though he cannot deliver an American joke, they still find his filipino jokes funny. What is great about the Simpsons is that it reflected the multi-cultural aspects of America.

One person asked about his success. He said that sometimes success is measured through money so he said that he's not quite successful yet cause he is not yet a millionaire. But being an award-winning animator is the pinnacle of his success. Because of it, many recognized the amount of contribution that the Filipino talents shared in this great tv series. Some even don't know that there are Filipino animators, too. Before, he was just a poor boy whose only dream was just to have an education. Now, he is the first Filipino Emmy winner.

Mr. Jess is such an inspiration to all of us. I am glad just to be there and be filled with all his wisdom and insights that he shared to all of us. Thanks to Animahenasyon for making this possible and it was really a one of a kind event. I hope that there will be more Filipinos who will reach this kind of success including myself. So to everyone, keep on dreaming and persevering so that someday you will find yourself in the pinnacle of success.

Here are some links that you might want to visit:

Jess Espanola - Internet Movie Database
Jess Espanola is the first Filipino to win an Emmy award

Thanks to Gerard Asay and Inquirer.net for the photos :D

Naga City, 11.23.10 - Located at the southeast tail of Luzon is the Bicol Region. Me, my sister Eldee, and my cousin Wella is currently in Naga City to attend the annual Philippine Animation Festival called ANIMAHENASYON. It's me and my sister's first time here in the region. Last monday, we went here by plane via Manila. Upon arrival, we were welcomed by Wella's cousin and travelled to the city proper by bus. We arrived at SM Naga and did some errands for a while. Then we hired a tricycle to bring us to the place where we will stay for the week. The fare here is much cheaper than in Zamboanga. Our boarding house is just near Ateneo de Naga University where the festival will happen. It is a boarding house where Wella stayed for one semester when she studied there. We left our bags and went back to SM and spent the rest of the night shopping and eating. We went back to the boarding house and rested.


The next day is the Opening Program of Animahenasyon held at the Arrupe Auditorium of ADNU. I was with my buddy-buddy Coline during the whole time. The opening ceremony was very different compared last year. Before, we just had dinner, opened the exhibit and had a short program at the cinema followed by the screening of the opening films. Now, it was formal more like the programs we had in school with keynote speakers, cultural and national dance numbers, awards and more. Every year Animahenasyon gives a lifetime achievement to a personality who had contributed or influenced a lot in the Philippine industry. This year, the award was given to Mr. Roque Federizon Lee, better known as Roxlee, pioneer of independent film animation. His style is known for his spontaneity and surreal sense of humor. Although he haven't worked as an animator for a company, his independent approach to filmmaking has influenced a lot of animators. During the whole week of Animahenasyon, his paintings will be exhibited at the Arrupe Auditorium. His book "Planet of the Noses" is also up for sale.


In the afternoon, we had a conference with the department head of one of the best animation schools in the world, Goblins, l'ecole de l'image, France. Mr. Eric Riewer talked about teaching animation in Gobelins and showed us the works of their students. Gobelins is known for its competitiveness and quality in choosing its students. A three year course in Animation includes 2 years of 2d animation and 1 year of 3d animation. Every year they have hundreds of applicants but only the top 25 will be allowed to study there. These students should be excellent in the basics of drawing. Usually, they are graduates of fine arts who has the expertise in drawing anatomies and perspectives to name a few.

Aside from its excellent students, they also had the best teachers, none other than the best professionals in the animation industry. Gobelins is known for their affiliation many animation companies in the world. Mr. Riewer showed us a lot of their student works and my favorites are the opening bumpers that they make for the animation festival called ANNECY. They were truly the best not only in drawing but also in story telling, design, technical aspects and more. How i wish to be one of the 25 students who will be privileged to study there. But i guess i have to take courses on Fine Arts and learn French first. Oh yeah, they use French in school.


After the very inspiring talk, we went to the auditorium to watch the screening of the competition entries of Animahenasyon. We saw the best works from the previous years and also the entries in the professional division. I will talk about it later and i may give some reviews about the films.


 Tired and hungry, coline and i went to the centro from ADNU through a tricycle for only 7 pesos per person. Ate and Wella was waiting for us so we could have dinner together. As we were walking in the centro grounds, we took some photos at the church and plaza where a rally was ongoing. It is the anniversary of the Maguindanao Massacre which is sad and i clearly remember a year ago where we were at Manila attending last year's Animahenasyon. It was a sad feeling watching the news at the mall when we were having dinner that time. Anyways, going back to our dinner, we had a yummy dinner at the Bigg's Diner just beside the plaza/park. The restaurant is beautiful, decorated with vintage stuffs like old bicycles, vinyl records, gramophones and Elvis Presley posters. It is a place that you should really go when you're in Naga especially if you love vintage and retro-pop art.


Then we headed to Starbucks to have some frappes and update our facebook accounts. This day is really fun, inspiring, and nostalgic. The week is still long and we still have a lineup of activities ahead. As of now, i will enjoy my stay in Naga and whenever i have the opportunity, i will write more about my experiences here. Dios Mabalos!


Why don't you read my next post! Read it here!
Thanks to Gerard Asay for some of the photos!