Davao Kilig Film Festival honors aspiring Davaoeño filmmakers

NINE teams of aspiring Davaoeño filmmakers, scriptwriters, and actors got a one-of-a-kind chance to share their unique stories and showcase their budding skills at the Davao Kilig Film Festival, Mindanao’s first-ever rom-com film festival. Ayala Malls Abreeza partnered with Davao-based filmmakers’ collective Pasalidahay and the Film Development Council of the Philippines to stage a film festival in celebration of both Valentine’s and National Arts Month in February. The organizers posed an exciting challenge: Participants had to shoot a rom-com short film entirely at Abreeza over a 48-hour period, then submit their final output the following day. Thrilled by the challenge, the initial call for applications produced dozens of storylines from groups of professionals, students, enthusiasts, friends, and first-time filmmakers coming from various disciplines—proof of the wealth of stories and talents that lie among film enthusiasts in the city. “More than the kilig we are sure to feel from these films, more than the awe at these displays of artistic expression, we feel proud and honored to be part of something that offers Davao’s artists a stage for them to share their craft,” Abreeza Marketing Manager Ruby Ochoa says. On February 29, Davao Kilig Film Festival held its Awards Night to honor the standout works among the nine finalists that made the cut. Winning the coveted Best Picture award was Pronoia Films’ Eyes with Wonder, an honor which also entitled them to a P25,000 cash prize. Besides the film festival’s top plum, Pronoia films also bagged the special award for Outstanding Technical Achievement. Claiming the Jury Prize and a P15,000 cash prize by garnering the second highest score out of all the finalists was Plus Size by Healthy Habits. The special award for Outstanding Performance in Acting went to Louella Caduyac of Friends into Film’s Yors, while Mikappa Productions’ Pagkab-ot took home the Best Original Music honor for the original composition “Closer to Me” by David John Garcia and Johann Alcon. Other finalist teams were Gatch Productions with Love in a Bottle, Late Eight Productions with Puso Puso Puso, Momshmallows with Secret Valentine, CODE Productions with Love over the Rainbow, and The Storyteller Films with Kitang Duha. Judging the finalists’ output was a panel of accomplished judges made up of Bagane Fiola, Pasalidahay co-founder and award-winning Mindanaoan filmmaker whose film Baboy Halas has screened at International Film Festival Rotterdam, won the NETPAC Jury Prize award at the QCinema International Film Festival, and won the Special Newcomer Award at the Internationales Film Festival Mannheim-Heidelberg in Germany; Benjamin Chicote Garcia, actor, writer, producer, and director of the 2nd Cinemalaya Independent Film Festival Special Jury Prize winner Batad: Sa Paang Palay; and Angely Chi, writer, artist, organizer, and Pasalidahay convenor. Mall-goers, too, got to revel in the kilig by catching the Davao Kilig Film Festival entries at the Premiere Night held on February 21 and the free screenings held from February 22 to 23.