FILIPINO filmmaker Paolo Villaluna froze for a few seconds when 2017 Shanghai International Film Festival Jury President Cristian Mungui announced his film had won the festival’s top prize.
“For the humanism and universality of the story, for the simplicity of the style and realization, for the nonconformism with which it represented our desire to believe that there is a sense in this universe, the award for the Best Film goes to Pedicab from the Philippines,” Mungiu announced.
Mungui, a most distinguished filmmaker from Romania whose film 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days was awarded the Palme D’Or in Cannes, and took home the European Film Academy Best Picture and Best Director awards, headed the high-profile jury composed of Chinese director and producer Bao Ping Cao, American-Macedonian filmmaker Milcho Manchevski, Chinese Actress Xu Qing, Japanese director Sabu, American producer Gary Michael Walters and Chinese screenwriter Li Qiang.
“I was so overwhelmed when I heard Pedicab [the international title of Pauwi Na] was announced as Best Film. The next thing I knew was I was sharing the stage with Cristian Mungui and receiving the Golden Goblet trophy. I remember calling out actors Bembol Roco and Cherry Pie Picahce to join me onstage,” Villaluna recalled. He dedicated the award to the Filipino people “who are in dire need of some good news during these times.”
The Shanghai filmfest is considered an A-list festival, one of only 15 festivals accredited by the highly touted International Federation of Film Producers Associations.
The filmmaker added, “I was hoping and praying that either or both Bembol and Cherry Pie would bring home the acting plums, and when they announced other winners in the acting categories, my hopes started to diminish. Our wish was just to not go home empty-handed.”
The festival awarded the Best Actor plum to Huang Bo of China for The Conformist and the Best Actress prize to Iran’s Sarah Bayat for Yellow, the film that also bagged the Special Jury Prize.
Before the Philippine delegation flew to China, Villaluna admitted secretly wishing for the Special Jury Prize (a festival’s equivalent to second best film). In 2002 a Japanese film, titled All About Lily Chou Chou, bagged the Special Jury Prize at the Shanghai filmfest and Villaluna shared that the film, directed by Shunji Iwai, had such a big influence on him as a struggling filmmaker at the time. But the universe had other plans and gave Villaluna the festival’s top prize this year.
It took almost a year before Pauwi Na took a big leap into the international film festival circuit. For many months after it was first shown in a local festival in Manila, the movie languished in the waiting room because some influential people who volunteered to help send his film abroad failed to do so. “I believe in destiny: when something is meant to be, it will happen,” Villaluna said, adding, “I look forward to more festivals within the year and, hopefully, continue to make our country proud.”
Pauwi Na was an entry to the 1st ToFarm Film Festival in 2016 where it won six awards, including top acting plums for lead actors Bembol Roco and Cherry Pie Picache, but it was unceremoniously disqualified to vie for the three Best Film prizes by the organizers for very vague reasons, a decision that is still being questioned to this day.
Meanwhile, we just got word the film has been included in the Pista ng Pelikulang Pilipino, a week-long celebration of the best of Filipino films that have not been commercially released, a priority project of the Film Development Council of the Philippines. Aside from Pauwi Na, the films that made it to this all-Filipino film festival include AWOL, Ang Manananggal sa Unit 23B, 100 Tula Para kay Stella, Bar Boys, Bird Shot, Hamog, Paglipay, Patay na si Hesus, Salvage, Star na si Van Damme Stallon and Triptiko.
The festival is scheduled from August 16 to 22 in all cinemas nationwide.