Bwaya wins Golden Cyclo award in France

MANILA, Philippines - Bwaya (international title: Crocodile), written and directed by Francis Xavier Pasion, won the Cyclo D’Or (Golden Cyclo) Award for its mixture of folk in a remote natural area to tell a lyrical tale of compassion. It bested eight other films in the Contemporary Asian Cinema: International Competition Section in the 21st Festival International des Ciné d’Asie (International Festival of Asian Cinema) in Vesoul, France last Feb. 17. 

Chinese director Wang Chao is the chairman of the International Jury with Filipino director Laurice Guillen, Iranian independent director Mohammad Rasoulof and Sri Lankan director Prasanna Vithanage as members.

With 90 participating films, the said film festival confirms its position as the oldest in Europe that caters to Asian cinema.

Bwaya is a true-to-life story of Divina (played by Angeli Agbayani) whose daughter, Rowena (Jolina Salvado), was attacked by an alligator. Divina learned a lesson more tragic than her fate while searching for her daughter’s body in the marshlands of Agusan del Sur, that not all predators are underwater.

Produced by Ferdinand Lapuz for Ignatius Films, Bwaya won the Best Film, NETPAC Award, Best Cinematography (Neil Daza) and Best Musical Score (Erwin Fajardo) in last year’s Cinemalaya’s New Breed Section. It had its international premiere at the 19th Busan International Film Festival in South Korea in Oct. 2014. It won the Grand Prize Award at the 15th Tokyo FILMex in Nov. 2014. — Reported by Celso de Guzman Caparas