Filipino Student Filmmakers from Benilde Dominate CineMapúa for Second Year in a Row

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Saan Aabot ang Dapithapon winners and talent manager Girlie Rodis

De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde student filmmakers proved their prowess once again as they dominated the recently concluded 20th CineMapúa International Student Film Short Film Festival held at the Mapúa University Gymnasium in Intramuros. The festival, which received 2,892 entries from 108 countries, is known as the longest-running student film festival in the Philippines. The Benildean filmmakers secured top honors in the intercollegiate category, with “Saan Aabot ang Dapithapon?” (Where Do Sunsets Go?) winning the Cardinal Gold Film Award, Best Performance of an Actress for Celeste Legaspi, Best Production Design for Paurine Shibata, and Best Sound Design for Orion Flynn. The film, written and directed by Trixie Vertera and Carissa Sierras, centers around a grandmother and her granddaughter searching for a missing spark plug to revive an old car and give it meaning in their lives. Another Benildean film, “Pig’s Game” by CM Bautista, took home the Cardinal Silver Film Award, Best Performance of an Actor for James Ramada, and Best Screenplay for Bautista and co-writer Tristan Aguilar. The film tells the story of a theater actor caught up in an audition for government propaganda. Meanwhile, “Alingasngas ng mga Kuliglig” (The Gossips of Cicadidae) by Vahn Pascual won the Cardinal Audience Award and Best Original Music for Karl Arthur Javier and BenildeFilm alumna Nik Rosacay. In the film, a boy falls in love with a tikbalang, a Philippine mythological creature with the head and hooves of a horse, and begins to question his mundane life as he is forced by his father to become the next folk healer of their town. Pascual had previously won top honors at the CineMapúa festival for his film “Sina Alexa, Xander at Ang Universe,” which garnered several awards including Cardinal Gold Film Award and Cardinal Best Performance of an Actor for himself. Other Benildean films that made it to the list of finalists and were shown onsite at the festival and online include “Makoko sa Baybay” (I am Going to the Beach) by Mike Cabarles and “Lilip” (Hem Stitch) by Yanie Cruz. The CineMapúa International Student Film Short Film Festival continues to showcase the creativity and talent of student filmmakers from different parts of the world, with the Benildeans consistently proving their mastery of the craft.

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