Phl film wins top prize at Busan festival

MANILA, Philippines - Filipino director Loy Arcenas’s “Niño” was awarded Best Picture in the New Currents section at the Busan International Film Festival during closing ceremonies held last night at the newly inaugurated Busan film center.

At the 16th edition of the annual event, the largest and most important film festival in Asia, a total of 13 productions from 12 countries and regions across Asia had vied for two awards in the New Currents section for first or second time Asian directors.

Iranian director Morteza Farshbaf’s “Mourning” shared the award. The two winning films will receive a cash award of $30,000 each.

“Niño,” which won the Special Jury Award at the 7th Cinemalaya independent film festival last July, follows the story of a family entangled by greed, set within the world of opera.

In a statement, the five-person New Currents jury headed by China’s Hong Kong-based director Yonfan said that the film is “a well-scripted, finely interpreted, superbly directed film that turns a familiar family saga to a new aria in an opera.”

“Mourning” is a road movie about a deaf couple who are struggling with the effort of how to tell their nephew that his parents have died in a car accident, when they are travelling to Tehran to reunite him with his parents. The jury said the movie sets “a new standard of cinematic poetry.”

Jury chair Yonfan said what he and other jury members looked at while selecting the final choices for the New Currents section were whether the filmmakers have honesty and if they bring something new into cinema.

“Niño” is the first Filipino film to win the top prize in Busan. In 2008, Chris Martinez’s “100” won the Audience Choice award, while Romel Tolentino’s “Andong” topped the Best Short Film category.