The award, producer Lilit Reyes recalled, came as a “sweet surprise.”

Sheron Dayoc’s “Halaw (Ways of the Sea)” won Special Mention from the Network for the Promotion ofAsian Cinema (Netpac) jury in the 61st BerlinInternational Film Festival on Saturday.

(The Netpac prize went to the Japanese film “Heaven’s Story,” directed by Zeze Takahisa.)

“Halaw,” which was included in the Forum section, was also vying for the Cinema Fairbindet and Amnesty International awards, Reyes related.

The “Halaw” contingent—composed of Dayoc, Reyes and actress Maria Isabel Lopez—was already preparing to go home when they received the good news on Saturday morning, to attend the afternoon ceremony for the independent juries.

After the fest, Lopez told Reyes and Dayoc: “Our film found its audience in Europe.”

Reyes recalled that the three screenings for “Halaw” in Berlin were “full.”

“To think the venues could accommodate 700 to 900 people,” Reyes said. “Most of the viewers were Europeans, but there were some Filipinos.”

Each screening, Reyes recounted, was punctuated by “a round of applause and the viewers stayed for the open forum.”

Real-life issues

Most of the questions centered on the real-life issues tackled in the film which tells the stories of different Filipinos crossing the Sulu Sea to enter Sabah, Malaysia, surreptitiously.

“They wanted to know more about the illegal trafficking of Filipinos. Some were curious about Sheron’s directorial style. Overall, they praised the film’s simplicity and visual artistry. A Malaysian viewer thanked us for shedding light on the issue,” said Reyes.

“It’s not about the prestige; it’s about seeing and feeling the audience’s appreciation,” Dayoc said. “Viewers thanked us for bringing this film to Germany. But I am more grateful because they allowed us to share this story to them.”

One audience member even asked for a digital file of the film’s theme song “Bathala ng Karagatan (God of the Seas),” sung by actor John Arcilla.

The viewers lauded the cast members, both the pros and nonprofessionals.

One of the jurors told Reyes that, although all the Asianfilms were exceptional, the Netpac prize was a toss-up between the Japanese and the Philippine entries.

Another juror confirmed this, telling Reyes that she fought for “Halaw” during the deliberation.

“Berlin is among the top three film festivals in the world,” Reyes remarked. “It’s tough to penetrate and just to be included is a major triumph.”

Dayoc agreed: “It sounds like a cliché, but being selected made me feel like a winner already. It made me proud as a Filipino.”

Best part is, the two Filipino films in this year’s Berlin (the other is Francis Xavier Pasion’s “Sampaguita” in Generation Kplus) are both Cinemalaya winners and products of the Treehouse Script group under Armando Lao, Dayoc and Reyes said.

This week, “Halaw” returned to the land of its birth, for screenings in Dayoc’s hometown Zamboanga City, for the Sineng Pambansa Reyes said.