Pinoys place 2nd at Asian children’s filmfest

MANILA, Philippines - Out of 156 entries from Japan and 31 entries from 11 participating countries, the Philippines won the Minister of Foreign Affairs Award (second place) in the Asian International Children’s Film Festival 2012 in Awaji, Japan last month.

Student filmmakers James Francis Conda and Kyle Robert Vergara of San Beda Alabang made the winning three-minute short film “Footbridge,” which bested films from Brunei, Cambodia, South Korea, Laos, Malaysia, Mongolia, Myanmar, Chinese Taipei, Thailand and Vietnam.

Japan won the Ryotaro Sugi Award (first prize), named after the founder and chairman of the festival. The competition has been bringing together students with passion in storytelling through filmmaking for the past six years. This is the first time the Philippines participated in the festival, through the Kizuna Project, which invited over 10,000 youths from the Asian/Oceanian regions, including 285 Filipinos, to Japan to participate in specially designed programs.

Popular singer and wife of the founder Natsuko Godai presented Conda and Vergara the festival trophy and certificate, as well as a digital camera for winning in the competition.