A romantic-fantasy film about a star and an Igorot man has been named Best Film in this year's Cinemalaya Independent Film Festival.
Titled "Tokwifi," the 20-minute long movie revolves around a 1950s meztiza star who was trapped inside a television that fell from the sky and dreams up a romantic romp with a Bontok Igorot man who does not know how to kiss.
"In this film, I wanted to reflect the fact na outsider ako dito eh, ang dami kong insecurities being part of the Bontoc community. It symbolizes that. So, I decided na i-merge ang mundo ng mga bituin -- a Manila star -- at mga tiga Bondoc," said director Carla Pulido Ocampo when asked about inspiration of the film.
Cinemalaya had their first ever virtual awarding ceremony on Aug. 12.
Unlike in the past 15 years, there were no full-length films in the lineup, and the festival instead focused on short films among others amid pandemic.
For health precautions, the film fest also “transitioned to virtual theater” via streaming platform Vimeo.
The awards were also limited to six categories.
Here's the complete list:
Best Film - "Tokwifi"
Best Direction - Martika Ramirez Escobar for "Living Things"
NETPAC Jury Prize - "Tokwifi"
Special Jury Prize - "Ang Pagpakalma Sa Unos"
Best Screenplay - Hubert Tibi for "Pabasa Kan Pasyon"
Audience Choice Award- "Quing Lalam Ning Aldo"
The virtual awarding ceremony was hosted by Glaiza de Castro. Acclaimed Filipino directors Sari Dalena and Raymond Reid, along with American film festival founder Jeannette Hereniko sat as jurists.