THEY say this generation—millennials or postmillennials, Generation Y or Z, digital natives, whatever you name it—is heavily visually inclined. Thus, it comes as no surprise that big names in the tech world are extending themselves into films, including telecommunications giant Globe.
Globe Studios, the original content-production arm of the company, launched its first-ever Globe Independent Film Festival (GIFF) late last year to promote, recognize and award young Filipino talents in the world of filmmaking.
Globe harnessed the power of social media and the internet to rally amateur filmmakers to share their quality films online, and thus reach a wider audience. “When we started GIFF, we really wanted to do a different type of film festival—something that’s more fun, friendly and, most importantly, inclusive. We also aimed to make it more accessible and cost-effective for our audience, as the entries can be seen for free whenever, wherever, right on the subscriber’s device,” Globe Studios Director Quark Henares said.
Last month Globe Studios laid out the red carpet for the winners in each category after receiving over 200 submissions. Winners per category were determined by a panel of judges composed of film director Antoinette Jadaone, TV personality Bianca Gonzales, film critic Philbert Dy and TV commercial director Sid Maderazo. Each winner also brought home cash prizes of up to P200,000. Felman Jay Hernandez Jr.’s Nothing Too Supreme finished first in the Documentary section, followed by Dino Placino’s Pelikula ni Rey and the trio of Romel Lozada, Tatiano Molarto and Jori Mae Samillano for Panginabuhi Namo, Sa Kaong na Giluto.
The Experimental segment was dominated by Mark Glenn Doroja’s Isda, Gab Mesina’s Peñafrancia and Anna Meer’s Girl Magazine finishing first, second and third, respectively.
As for the Animation category, Lakas ng Lahi by the duo Arnold Arre and Emil Flores nabbed the gold, while The Well by Juan Alcazaren nabbed the silver. Momo, created by Avid Liongoren who created the sleeper hit Saving Sally, placed third. Webisodes, which are gaining traction today thanks to original content producers distributing their works online, were also present in the GIFF. Karlo Policarpio’s Dota Dad topped the list, while his Hugot Sword placed third. Gariendo Encarnacion’s Bilucao Warriors IV took second place.
In the Narrative category, Alec Figuracion’s All Your Algorithms finished first, while Adel Clemente’s TransParent and Brian Patrick Lim’s The Harvest second and third, respectively. Of course, what’s a millennial festival without a Music Video category? Here, indie artists took on the stage and the screen to showcase what they got. Christine Joyce Silva’s Building Too, sung by BP Valenzuela, topped this category. Gio Puyat’s Absent Mind, sung by Nanay Mo, and Dominic Bekaert and Quintuin P. Cu-Unjieng’s Sepia, performed by Escuri, ranked second and third.
Gab Mesina’s Peñafrancia, a second-placer in the Experimental category, also won the Audience Choice Award for garnering the most views online via YouTube and Globe Studios. “Globe Studios’ GIFF Awards Night definitely proved how we gave our brand a whole new way of bringing wonderful entertainment to our customers,” said Henares. “With the event, our vision for Globe Studios has been realized—to advocate local talent and eventually collaborate with them for content. GIFF has allowed us to fuel creativity among filmmakers, and we’re very proud of these filmmakers who brought these amazing films closer to every Filipino.”