USC Hosts 4th BINISAYA Film Festival
Like an anticipated sequel from a long-standing movie franchise, the annual BINISAYA film festival in its fourth year was a resounding success. The two-day event ran from Sept. 19 to 20 and was held at the College of Architecture and Fine Arts of the University of San Carlos, Talamban Campus.
“BINISAYA” is the brainchild of filmmaker and CAFA alumnus Keith Deligero and friends, established in 2009 as an outlet for the exhibition of Bisaya movies. Co-presenting this year’s BINISAYA was indie record label Bomba Press in cooperation with USC Cinema’s Sinekultura.
The event kicked off with “The Kalampag Tracking Agency”, a series of experimental film shorts curated by Shireen Seno and Merv Espina. It featured works from Philippine cinema heavyweights such as Raya Martin, Raymond Red and John Torres, a headliner for BINISAYA 2014 with his feature film, “Lukas Nino/Lukas the Strange,” which made its Cebu debut shortly after. The final screening of the night was Keith Deligero’s Cinema One Originals feature film, “Iskalawags,” a slice-of-life celebration of teenage boyhood set in Camotes island off the east of Cebu.
The second day of BINISAYA began with a master class with experimental director John Torres. Presenting before both cinema majors and non-film students, Torres imparted years’ worth of industry experience on the basics of storytelling and scene staging. In what is the country’s first 48-hour shootout where participants write, shoot and edit a movie in two days, ten of the finalists’ entries were screened at the CAFA Theater. While the jury from the Motion Picture Society of Cebu (MPSC)—headed by cinematographer Ruel Antipuesto, director Janice Perez and production designer Kaloy Uypuanco—deliberated on the winners, the audience enjoyed the following BINISAYA short films: Dico Hilason (Astro James Lugo), Abakada ni Nanay (Joni Sarfina Mejico), The Right Thing (Bradley Tenchavez), I am Patience (Razcel Jan Salvarita), Josephine (Akie Yano) and Ika-3 Putahe (Joeromer Bacus). Ernest Dino’s Retaso was the recipient of the Best Short Film Award and Cinema and Moving Image Research Assembly (CAMIRA) Jury Prize.
Carolinians Amaya Han of Baybayong Birhen, Samantha Solidum of Diskonek and Trenary Guerrero of Aninaw were also part of the competition while the BFA-Cinema team composed of Rica Salvador, Lyka Ruela and Mariya Lim received the Technical Excellence award for their 48-Hour Shootout short film, Ba(n)haw. The Asian Shorts segment of the program showcased a multinational crop of films from Nepal, India, Thailand, Taiwan, Cambodia and Indonesia. The Cinema and Moving Image Research Assembly (CAMIRA) Jury Prize was awarded to the film Boonrerm by Sorayos Prapapan.
To cap off BINISAYA was the premiere of Sonata Maria, directed by Davao-based Bagane Fiola. An independently-produced feature film under Origane Films, Sonata Maria is a magical-realist take on twenty-something struggles.
Of the recently concluded event, founder Deligero shares, “Sa una wala gyu’y platform sa Cebu nga kapasalidahan namo sa among mga salida mao’ng gisugdan namo ang binisaya pag 2009. Sukad ato, hangtod karon lisod ug gasto kaayo siya nga bisyo, pero bisan sa stragol nalipay kaayo ko nga kada tuig nagkadako ang community sa BINISAYA labi na karong nga naa nay “pirated” version ang BINISAYA, flattered kaayo ko naa na gyud diay value ang atong gihaguan.”
