ANGEL Aquino in “Bonsai”

TWO Cinemalaya shorts have won in Asian film festivals.

Mikhail Red’s “Harang,” Best Screenplay winner at this year’s Cinemalaya, was awarded the Grand Prize at the 12th Seoul International Youth Film Festival last week.

A few weeks earlier, Borgy Torre’s “Bonsai,” Best Short winner at last year’s Cinemalaya, won for the same category in the Asian section of the Short Shorts Film Festival held in Tokyo. This year, Torre fielded “Despedida” for Cinemalaya.

Overwhelming

In the fest’s website, Torre related that the Tokyo trip was “exciting, overwhelming.” He described the honor “as close to my heart.”

The award came with a cash prize of 600,000 yen (about $6,864), he said, “and they bought the Japanese rights to ‘Bonsai.’”

To make “Bonsai,” he recalled, “I spent my own money and collaborated with friends.”

Both “Bonsai” and “Despedida” feature Angel Aquino in the lead role. “She’s great. I can probably say she’s my muse,” Torre told the Philippine Daily Inquirer.

Red, who’s only 18, said winning in Seoul has inspired him “to continue making films, to contribute to the heritage of Philippine cinema.” Although he attended the first few days of the festival, Red had to fly back home to join Cinemalaya and was not able to attend the awards rites.

“The organizers promised to send the trophy via express courier...I can’t wait,” Red told the Inquirer.

He said he had a wonderful time in Korea, and that he was amazed by his fellow young directors: “Their films were daring and mature for their age.”

His dad, Cannes-winning filmmaker Raymond Red, also told the Inquirer, via e-mail: “I am very proud of my son’s early achievements. I always remind him that awards are a mere reaffirmation of the film’s merits ...but still this recognition can lead to reaching a wider audience, and further his immersion in cinema.”