gawad 26 judges

GAWAD 26 JUDGES

Experimental/Animation

JANE ARRIETA EBARLE was educated at the University of Sto. Tomas with a degree of Fine Arts major in Advertising. She has been a marketing professional for the last 16 years handling global brands. Currently, she heads the marketing of Faber-Castell, Dong-A, and soon, the New York-based maker of acrylic paints, Golden Acrylic Colors, all under the distributorship of Crown Supply Corp.

Having been the president of Philippine Art Educators Association (PAEA), she has helped in the advancement of art education in our academic institution by teaching thousands of public school teachers through the Faber-Castell Academy of Arts program. She also advocates women empowerment in art and she does this while finishing her MA in Women and Development at the University of the Philippines. She currently sits as the founder of Birthday Club, a group of women professionals which pushes for women-oriented programs. As part of her thesis, she put up her own blog, as founder and editor of www.daldakinangpinay.com which tackles issues about women in the Philippine art. She was named as one of the “100 Women Artists” during the “The National Committee on the Centennial of the Feminist Movement in the Philippines”.

ERLITO “LILIT” REYES is a multi-media creative practitioner who dabbles in both the advertising and film worlds. He is now an independent creative consultant for marketing clients and a scriptwriter for independent film companies. He won first prize for Scriptwriting in the 55th Palanca Awards for his piece entitled Hubog ng Langit. He co-produced 2010 Cinemalaya’s New Breed Best Picture Halaw. Among his more popular works include Kita-Kits

sa Mcdo campaign and the character Tolits in Tide detergent’s series of ads. He is now the Executive Producer of Inside the Cinema on Cinema One. You might also see him pop up from time to time in one of the latest indie films or telenovelas as he is also honing his acting chops.

RIANNE HILL SORIANO is a director, producer, writer, consultant, and educator working on independent films and commercial/corporate projects. She is an Ani ng Dangal (Harvest of Honor) awardee for Cinema by the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA), Office of the President, Malacañang. She received the Kodak Film Award and Best Film Thesis at the University of the Philippines Film Institute.

In the United States, she won the Las Vegas Filmmaker of the Year at the indie arts awards RAWards. She became the city’s official representative for the national finals featuring other award-winning filmmakers from other key U.S. cities. She is also a First Friday Las Vegas artist and a Yahoo! Movies Featured Critic Award finalist.

In Korea, she is a filmmaker fellow of the Asian Film Academy of the prestigious Busan International Film Festival (BIFF) and a director/writer fellow and trainee of the Asian Film Professionals Training Program of the Korean Film Council (KOFIC). She is a co-author of KOFIC’s Asian Film Industry Book published in 2010.

DOCUMENTARY

RICA AREVALO is a Communication Arts graduate of De La Salle University and holds a Masters of Arts degree in Communication Management at the Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila (University of the City of Manila). Her thesis film, "Nag-aalinlangang Ina" (Reluctant Mothers, 1995) won Best Video Documentary at the 9th Gawad CCP for Alternative Film and Video Competition.

In 2005, she won the Best Direction Award for her first feature film ICU Bed #7 from the 1st Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival. The same material earlier won 2nd place at the 53rd Don Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards for Literature in 2003.

She was the executive producer of the box-office hit musical comedy, "Saan Nagtatago si Happiness?" (Where is Happiness), a finalist at the 2006 Cinemalaya. She was also the co-screenwriter of National Artist Eddie Romero for "Faces of Love" (2007) and "Teach Me to Love" (2008). Her short film, “Gusto Kita Too” (I Like You Too, 2008), shot in California, USA tackling Pinoy-style teen courtship, was screened at the 2008 4th India International Women Film Festival, New Delhi.

Her second feature, Ganap na Babae (Garden of Eve, 2010) was the opening film of the 6th Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival that won the Mient’s Pick Excellence in Cinematography at the 2011 Soho International Film Festival in New York. Her recent work, "The Privileged Migrants" is a personal documentary on the exodus of her high school batch mates to different parts of the world to become an immigrant or migrant worker. Nominated5 Best Documentary at the 37th Gawad Urian (2014).

She is a recipient of the 2012 Ani ng Dangal (Harvest of Honor) award from the NCCA-Office of the President, Malacanang. She writes for the Saturday Special section of the Philippine Daily Inquirer and is a lecturer at De La Salle University and DLS – College of St. Benilde.

CLODUALDO “DOY” DEL MUNDO, JR. is a screenwriter and a director. Some of his screenplay credits are Maynila…Sa mga Kuko ng Liwanag, Kisapmata, Batch ’81, Merika, Mulanay, Aliwan Paradise, Bayaning 3rd World, Markova and Pepot Artista. His film/video essays and documentaries include People Media, Maynila…Isang Pelikulang Pilipino, Komiks, Lupa Pahiyas, Maid in Singapore, Ehem!plo (Corruption and Integrity in the Philippines) and Tinitingna, Di Nakikita. In 2005, he directed Pepot Artista which won Best Picture in the 1st Cinemalaya Independent Film Festival. In 2011, he premiered his second feature film, Paglipad ng Anghel. Doy has a doctoral degree in Communication Studies (Film) from the University of Iowa. He is connected with the Department of Communication of the De La Salle University as a Professor Emeritus and University Fellow.

RICHARD SORIANO LEGASPI

A prolific filmmaker, Legaspi was a film directing fellow at the prestigious Asian Film Academy in Busan, South Korea in 2007.

His first full-length film ‘Paano Ko Sasabihin?’ won the Special Jury Prize, Audience Award and Best in Editing at the 2009 Cinema One Originals and was a finalist at the Babel Film Festival in Italy. He is also the director and writer of award-winning films Manenaya, Special Jury Prize winner at the Cinemalaya Independent Film Festival and the opening film of Asiatica Film Mediale in Rome in 2012, and ‘Ambulancia,’ which earned the Miglior Montaggio Award at the San Gio Film Festival

and was a finalist at the Dubai International Film Festival (IFF) and received citations in film festivals in Asiana, Bangkok, San Gio, Budapest, Grand-Off Warsaw, Bradford, San Francisco, Patras and Austria.

He also directed Pamatid-Gutom (Hunger Pangs), Kinulayang Kiti (Hand-Painted Feathers), Pagtakas sa Kawalan (Escape to Nothingness), Dimensions of Belonging, Fare L’Amore con il Vento and Pipo. Ang Walang Kapagurang Paglalakbay ng Pulang Maleta (L’instancabile viaggio della valigia rossa) is his first documentary and entry to the recently concluded 1st Cine Totoo Philippine International Documentary Festival.

A two-time Gawad CCP Para sa Alternatibong Pelikula at Video awardee (2010 and 2011), Carlos Palanca Awardee for Literature in 2012 for the screenplay Primera Bella, and a Gawad Urian nominee for Manenaya, he received the prestigious UNESCO Laureate artist recognition in 2013, eventually becoming a resident artist of the Università delle Idee, Cittadellarte-Fondazione Pistoletto and ILLY CAN PRIZE WINNER – Art for Social Change in Italy.

Short Feature

JAY ALTAREJOS is renowned as one of the innovators of gay cinema in the Philippines. His films are known for their strong identity and gay subjects, and have been screened at many local and international festivals. Ang Lihim ni Antonio (2008) tackled gay identity and won Best Feature Film at the 2010 Festival de la Luna in Valencia, Spain. Ang Laro sa Buhay ni Juan (2009), talked about poverty and inequality, and got an Honorable Mention-Narrative Category at the 2010 Chicago Reeling in USA. Unfriend (2013), his commentary on social media and suicide was at the Panorama Section of the 2014 Berlinale and has been getting international and local media attention for “highlighting dangerous power of social media”.

His film Pink Halo-Halo, a Cinemalaya finalist in 2010 was the first full-length feature that used Tigaonaon, the language of the people of Ticao Island in Masbate, won Best Editing.

His entry Kasal to this year’s Cinemalaya is his take on the concepts of love and commitment and how the same are tested and redefined by time and circumstances. It won the Cinemalaya Balanghai Award for Best Film.

TARA ILLENBERGER

FRANCIS PASION earned his Communications degree cum laude at the Ateneo de Manila University where he founded the film organization in the university, the Loyola Film Circle.

His first feature film, Jay won the Best Film Award at the 2008 Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival. It also won Best Actor for Baron Geisler and Best Editing. It had its international premiere at the Orizzonti section of the Venice International Film Festival and went on to be screened in over 30 international film festivals and has won 6 international awards.

Sampaguita, his second film, won the Special Jury Prize at the 2010 Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival and went on to represent the Philippines in the New Currents Section of the 2010 Pusan International Film Festival. It was also in competition at the Generation Section of the 2011 Berlin International Film Festival.

His 2014 Cinemalaya entry Bwaya, won Best Original Music Score, Best Cinematography and Best Film.