MANILA, Sept 1 – Ten diverse short films have been selected as finalists for the fourth Viddsee Juree Philippines, an annual festival of short films that celebrates and supports filmmaker communities in Asia.
The nominated films were submitted by a range of independent filmmakers, who covered a range of topics that include mental health, sexuality, the education system, the war on drugs, religion and politics.
The diversity is also reflected in the range of genres encompassed by the films including comedies such as ‘Heist School’ by Julius Renomeron Jr., and ‘Day of Danger’ by Cynthia Saluba; dark dramas such as ‘Walk’ by Martina Espanya, ‘Ophelia’ by Celina Mae Medina, ‘The Boy Who Bleeds In The Middle Of The Sea’ by James Fajardo, and ‘Crossing’ by Mark Misa; socio-realism dramas such as ‘Peter’s Last Semester’ by Ken Leviste and ‘Almost There, Mother!’ by Dan Verzosa; and horror such as ‘Medium Rare’ by Christian Paul Naparota, and ‘Buding, The Woman Who Floated’ by Mark Raymund Garcia.
Most of this year’s participating filmmakers hail from different schools such as the University of the Philippines Film Institute, De La Salle - College of Saint Benilde, MINT College, Mapua University, Far Eastern University, University of Santo Tomas and Asia Pacific Film Institute.
This year’s entries were also noted for its regional diversity, which included entries from filmmakers based in Cebu City (‘Walk’); Sagay City (‘Buding The Woman Who Floated’) and Bohol (‘Medium Rare’).
Two top entries will be named Gold and Silver winners, who will be picked by an international panel of judges that comprises film producer and founder of Indonesia-based Tanakhir Films, Mandy Marahimin; Filipino director, writer, and producer Jade Castro, whose directorial debut ‘Endo’ won the Cinemalaya Grand Jury Prize; and Los Angeles-based film festival programmer Eseel Borlasa, who has executed film festival campaigns at Sundance, SXSW, TIFF, LA Film Festival and more.
Said Luigene Yanoria, Viddsee’s community manager: “As with previous years, this year’s entries for the Juree Awards Philippines continue to impress us with their execution, inventiveness and boldness in how they tell their stories. And given the circumstances of a very challenging year, these films also show the resilience of filmmakers in pursuing their craft, and the desire for audiences to watch entertaining and meaningful short films.”
Said Juree judge Jade Castro on this year’s entries: “What really struck us about the films was the filmmakers’ ingenuity and tenacity to finish their films while on lockdown, proving that their creativity has not dolled up despite the limits the pandemic brings.”
An All Virtual Juree Awards Supported by Podcasts, Discussions, Screenings and More
Viddsee will also host the livestream of the awards ceremony, as well as curated watch parties and talk-back sessions with the finalists. Coinciding with the Juree Awards is the launch of Viddsee’s Filipino podcast ‘Off Script’, which is aimed at film enthusiasts who want to learn anything and everything about films through conversations with industry experts. The podcast is available now on Spotify, Google Podcasts and Apple Podcasts.
The Gold winner will be awarded the Filmmaker Gold Kit, which includes a 13-inch Macbook Air, Adobe’s 12-month Creative Cloud All Apps subscription, a gold plaque, and exclusive Viddsee merchandise. The Silver winner will take home the Viddsee Filmmaker Silver Kit, which includes a silver plaque, Adobe’s 12-month Creative Cloud All Apps subscription, and exclusive Viddsee merchandise. All 10 finalists will be awarded Adobe’s 12-month Creative Cloud All Apps subscription and finalist certificates.
Aside from the main winners, finalists and out-of-competition films can also vie for the Audience Choice Award, which will be picked based on the most number of ‘likes’ it receives on Viddsee.com. The voting period for the Audience Choice Awards is held from now until Sept 10. The Audience Choice Award winner will take home an Apple TV and Audience Choice certificate.
The annual Juree Awards initiative debuted in Indonesia in 2016, and expanded to include the Philippines in 2017, and Singapore in 2018. Find out more about the Juree Awards at https://www.viddsee.com/channel/juree.
The public can learn more about the Juree Philippines Awards Programme, as well as watch all nominated and other out-of-competition films for free on https://www.viddsee.com/c/juree-philippines-2020
For more film stills, information, and press images of the directors, visit https://drive.google.com/drive/u/0/folders/1dK0jt5CXguoaLAKvtwuT9BI-lymPWme3
About Viddsee Juree Awards
Viddsee Juree Awards (‘Juree’) is an annual industry pick award celebrating best short films from Singapore, Indonesia and the Philippines. In each edition, the countries’ brightest talents and storytellers submit their films to a panel of international judges, who will then handpick the winning entries. Viddsee amplifies the out-of-competition entries and finalists to our audience communities. Juree is part of Viddsee’s commitment to grow a network of prestigious storytellers, to support local film communities, and to inspire a new generation of storytellers across Asia.
About Viddsee
Viddsee is a leading video entertainment platform for short premium content. With over 1 billion views powered by data insights and a trusted community, we empower storytellers by enabling the creation of films and amplifying stories to targeted audiences.
Media contacts
For Filipino press: Luigene Yanoria luigene@viddsee.com
International press: John Lim john@viddsee.com
