First of all, i would like to congratulate my fellow Zamboangueno, Sheron Dayoc for winning Best Director (for New Breed Full Length) for his film Halaw, which also won Best Film in this year's Cinemalaya held from July 9-18, at the CCP. The film's lead actor, Mr. Jon Arcilla, also won Best Actor.

Cinemalaya is a competitive all digital film festival that aims to discover, encourage and honor the cinematic works of Filipino filmmakers and seeks to invigorate the Philippine film industry by developing a new breed of Filipino filmmakers. Cinemalaya is a presentation of the Cinemalaya Foundation, the CCP, Film Development Council of the Philippines and Econolink Investments. After the jump, you can see the full list of the winners and performers of Cinemalaya 2010 (which i got from the facebook page and website of Cinemalaya 2010).

Audience Choice:

Directors Showcase: Two Funerals by Gil M. Portes
Shorts: "P" by Milo Tolentino
New Breed: Magkakapatid by Kim Homer Garcia

NETPAC Award: Sheika by Arnel Mardoquio

Awards for DIRECTORS SHOWCASE:

Best Editing: Chuck Gutierrez for Pink Halo-Halo
Best Production Design: Aped Santos for Donor
Best Cinematography: Arvin Viola for Two Funerals
Best Supporting Actor: Tirso Cruz III for Sigwa
Best Supporting Actress: Carla Pambid for Donor
Best Screenplay: Enrique Ramos for Two Funerals
Best Actor: Baron Geisler for Donor
Best Actress: Meryll Soriano for Donor
Special Jury Prize: Two Funerals by Gil Portes

Awards for SHORTS:

Best Screenplay: Harang by Mikhail Red
Special Jury Prize: "P" by Milo Tolentino

Awards for NEW BREED:

Best Sound: Albert Michael Idioma for Rekrut
Best Original Musical Score: Emerson Tecson
Best Editing: Lester Olager and Chuck Gutierrez for Mayohan and Halaw
Best Production Design: Syrel Lopez and Ivan Zaldarriaga for The Leaving
Best Cinematography: Dan Villegas for Mayohan and Rommel Andreo Sales, Jr. for The Leaving
Best Supporting Actor: Emilio Garcia for Rekrut
Best Supporting Actress: LJ Reyes for The Leaving
Best Screenplay: Paul Sta. Ana for Mayohan
Best Actor: Jon Arcilla for Halaw
Best Actress: Lovi Poe for Mayohan
Special Jury Prize: Sampaguita by Francis Xavier PasionMAIN AWARDS

SHORTS :

Best Director: Milo Tolentino for "P"
Best Film: Wag Kang Titingin by Pam Miras

DIRECTORS SHOWCASE:

Best Director :: Gil Portes for Two Funerals
Best Film :: Donor by Mark Meily

NEW BREED:

Best Director: Sheron Dayoc for Halaw
Best Film: Halaw by Sheron Dayoc

Performances at the Awards Night

"The Way You Look at Me" by Christian Bautista
"Muli" by Dingdong Avanzado
"Yakap" by Ogie Alcasid
"Bukas Na Lang Kita Mamahalin" by Lani Misalucha
(encore, a capella) Con Te Partiro


Cinemalay 2010 Jury:
Jose Javier Reyes, Ricky Davao, Joselito Zulueta, Ishizaka Kenji, and Italo Spinelli.



Again, congratulation to all winners and finalist of this years cinemalaya. I'm really looking forward for their visit here in Zamboanga so we can watch them here, too. Talking about film festivals im pondering on whether to join or not this year's Animahenasyon, the Philippine Animation Festival, which will be held in Ateneo de Naga University. I hope i can come up with award-winning entries, too.hehe.

I want to share my new experimental works that i created in flash during a seminar that we conducted last May12-15. With the use of the pen tool and pencil tools, i doodle different objects and scenes and applied the ukkil effect in the artwork. Ukkil is a technique used in Mindanao, specifically in the Sulu Peninsula. It is a decorative design that is used in carving, basketry, pottery, and weaving with patterns similar to the western style of Arabesque and Art Nouveau.

According to my Humanities teacher, during the Byzantine era, the Iconoclasts influenced the art of the Arabic countries spreading across Asia. Before, it was a sin for Muslims to recreate or paint/sculpt the creations of God such as human or animals. That's why they used geometric patterns, ornamental designs and icons. We can see this in the art of the Tausug, Maranao and Yakans here in Mindanao, which applies shapes and patterns similar to the art during the Byzantine era. Ukkil usually have motifs shaped like waves, ropes, calligraphy, decor and colors.

But today, that belief seems to be gone already. The yakans already has new designs that are influenced by their surroundings like the kenna-kenna, patterned after a fish; dawen-dawen (leaf of a vine) ; pene mata-mata, (eye) and the bunga-sawa (python). In Ukkil, they have motifs of creatures like the sarimanok, horse, insects, fishes, dragons, flowers and even humans.

I personally know one of Philippines best painter who uses the style of ukkil in his paintings and drawings. He is Mr Rameer Tawasil. Mr Tawasil was my teacher in oil painting one summer and he is also my student in photoshop that year. His art is very vivid and cultural. He mastered his ukkil style in painting and now he is known nationally for his style. Here are some essential links that you might want to visit:

Ukkil, Visual Arts of the Sulu Archipelago
Paintings of Rameer Tawasil
my Vector Ukkil Doodles

I'm so happy that our short animation, Mayari, was included in the lineup of Cinema Rehiyon 2010. It is a national film festival showcasing the side of Philippine independent cinema that you've never seen before held at the CCP Tanghalang Manuel Conde (Dream Theater) last Feb 17-20, 2010. Cinema Rehiyon is a project of the National Commission for the Culture and the Arts, Crossing Negros Cultural Foundation, Inc. and the Cultural Center of the Philippines. To be shown during the film festival are over 70 short and full-length films, most of which are screening in Metro Manila for the first time. Stories about home, by people who live in them, spoken in their native tongue.

Our short film Mayari was included in the category "Crossing Borders." The story is based on a Pampangan myth about the epic duel of the gods of the heavens. Mayari became also a finalist during last year's Animahenasyon, an animation festival.

I hope that next year more films from Mindanao especially in Zamboanga in film festivals like this. We have all the talent and content but we need to expose these talents. Let us create more film so we can also tell the world our stories.

You can watch the film here: