The Film Development Council of the Philippines recognized the creativity and global achievements of recent international film festival winners during the Film Ambassadors Night 2017 held last January 31 at the FDCP Cinematheque Manila Open Grounds, T.M. Kalaw St., Ermita, Manila.
Among those honored are FDCP Artistic Excellence Awardee Brillante Mendoza (“Ma’Rosa”) and Film Ambassadors Erik Matti (“Honor Thy Father”), Jun Lana and Paolo Ballesteros (“Die Beautiful”), Cesar Montano (“Nilalang”), Eduardo Roy, Jr. and Hasmine Kilip (“Pamilya Ordinaryo”), Mario Cornejo (“Apocalypse Child”), Mikhail Red (“Birdshot”), Paolo Dy (“Ignacio de Loyola”), Seymour B. Sanchez (“Caretaker”), Khavn Dela Cruz (“Alipato: The Very Brief of an Ember”), Joseph Israel Laban (“Happy New Year”), Sue Prado and Marco Felipe Villa Lopez (“The Sister”), Noriel Jarito (“Huramentado”), Vincent Soberano (“Blood Hunters”), Dominic Nuesa (“Ang Araw sa Likod”), P.R. Patindol (“Hilom”) and Bradley Liew (“Singing in Graveyards”).
Also bestowed Film Ambassador honors by the FDCP are International Film Festival Manhattan Lifetime Achievement Awardees Gloria Sevilla and Ricky Lee and IFFM 2016 winners Sigfreid Barros-Sanchez (“Magtanggol”), Ato Bautista (“Gemini”), Andreas Muñoz (“Ignacio de Loyola”), Natalie Hart (“Siphayo”), Leon Miguel (“Red Lights”), Madonna Sanchez (“Filemon Mamon”), Giovanni Baldisseri (“Lucky Jinx”), Carlo Ortega Cuevas (“Walang Take Two”) and Rhoda Joy Blaza (“The Equation”).
Rounding up the FDCP Film Ambassador awardees are Los Angeles Philippine International Film Festival 2016 winners Carlo Catu and Robby Tantingco (“Ari: My Life with a King”), Randolph Longjas and Candy Pangilinan (“Star na si Van Damme Stallone”), Pedring Lopez (“Nilalang”), King Palisoc (“Tandem”), Soliman Cruz (“Balik”), Clanch Dayve Belleza and Albert Chan Paran (“Julie”), Anj Macalanda (“Wawa”), Niko Salazar (“Sejour”), Jae-re Louise Liwanag (“Sukat”), Katherine Olmedo (“Got it Maid”) and Leeds Animation Workshop and Pavilion (“They Call Us Maids”).
Dubbed as “an evening of celebration, thanksgiving and gathering of our award-winning Filipino films and filmmakers,” the event was first launched last October 2016 and FDCP aims to make it an annual event to recognize those who continue the proud tradition of Philippine cinema and have brought not only prestige to the country but also raised the level of awareness to the craft and art of filmmaking.
“Our filmmakers are Film Ambassadors duly representing our culture all over the world through the wondrous power of cinema. Each of their contribution only adds to the whole of an already great Filipino heritage that is constantly growing in scale and quality,” FDCP Chair and CEO Liza Diño said.
Since Diño assumed her post at FDCP, she has vowed to campaign for the continued growth of Philippine cinema and has introduced numerous flagship programs to support and empower film literacy, film education, film criticism, and film appreciation.
