Lana Best Director in India filmfest

MANILA, Philippines – Jun Robles Lana (right, with producer Ferdinand Lapuz, left) received the Rajatha Chakoram Award (Silver Crow Pheasant Award) for Best Director for Anino Sa Likod ng Buwan (Shadow Behind the Moon) in the 20th International Film Festival of Kerala in an awarding ceremony held in Nishagandhi Auditorium, Thiruvananthapuram, India, last Friday evening, Dec. 11.

Lana defeated 13 other international directors from Brazil, Argentina, Turkey, Kazakhstan, Iran, Israel and India, among others. He received a trophy, a citation and a memento.

“Among this year’s crop, Lana’s film amazed me as a filmmaker with its clever narrative techniques,” said Kamaluddin Mohammed Majeed a.k.a. Kamal, a noted Malayalam cinema director, writer and producer.

“Overwhelmed and thankful for this early Christmas gift!” said Lana. “It means so much to win Best Director in places like India and Russia for a film that is very Filipino. The response from the international audience has been very inspiring. I look forward to the opportunity to screen Anino Sa Likod ng Buwan back home in January.”

Independent film producer Ferdinand Lapuz, who accompanied Lana, said, “I am very happy and proud of my director Jun Robles Lana. This is his third international Best Director Award after Madrid (2013, Barber’s Tales) and Vladivostok (2015, Shadow Behind the Moon). Thank you to the International Film Festival of Kerala!”

Meanwhile, Brillante Mendoza’s Taklub was among the six international films which won Best Film in global competitions that were screened at the closing function of the said filmfest.