The Market Monitor Minding the Nation's Business
by Boy Villasanta
Photo Caption: Ruby Ruiz and Pokwang (Photo Credit: Mell T. Navarro/Facebook)
Social media posts on the stalemate win of actresses Pokwang and Ruby Ruiz came true last night at the 22nd Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival awards night at the Grand Atrium of the Shangri-La Plaza.
Presenter John Arcilla readily announced “It’s a tie” and the audience applauded in anticipation as he read the Cinemalaya citations of the respective acting prowess of Pokwang and Ruby Ruiz for “2 Valid IDs” and “Status: Rejected” initially without naming names but the crowd was able to discern who he was referring to.
True enough, it was a tie between Pokwang and Ruby.
Instead of calling the name Pokwang, it was her real name that was announced by John, Marietta Subong or because the announcement was drowned by the cheers of the audience in and outside the cordoned space, Pokwang’s reel name was just a secondary nature and the throng of guests, fans and Cinemalaya participants yelled just the same.
Ruiz’s name was called on afterwards and the two actresses went up the stage to receive their Balanghai trophies.
Before proceeding to the rostrum, Ruby and Marietta showed their feminine kiss on the proscenium stage which titillated the gender bias, excitement or predilection of the crowd.
Subong first took the podium and spoke about the harsh realities of the Philippine economy in relation to movie watching while Ruby talked about personal notes.
“Mag-iina” directed by Giancarlo Abraham and “Silkscreen” directed by Rey Anthony Villaverde clinched the Best Film for the Full-Length and Short Film awards, respectively while “Status: Rejected” directed by Vahn Leinard Pascual and “The River Flows in Different Places” directed by Lot-Lot Hermosura took home the Cinemalaya 22 for Full-Length Feature and Short Film categories for the “Network for the Promotion of Asian Cinema (NETPAC) Award, respectively.
“2 Valid IDs” directed by Ma-an L. Asuncion-Dagñalan and Abet Pagdagdagan Raz and “Para-Paraan” directed by Mae Chan Li won the Special Jury Prize, respectively.
The other winners are:
Best Actor: Martin Del Rosario—”Tayo Lang Ang Nakakaalam“; Best Supporting Actors: Lucas Andalio of “Mag-iina” KD Omalin of “Hand of God”; Best Supporting Actress: Bituin Escalante of “A.ni.mal”; Best Director (Full-Length): GianCarlo Abrahan for “Mag-iina” and (Short): Gabriela Serrano for “Elenita Elena Elaine”; Best Screenplay (Full-Length): “Mag-iina” by Guelan Varela-Luarca and “Runo” by Lysa Catolico and Jasmine Gin R. Pateña Best Screenplay (Shorts); Best Original Musical Score: “Mag-iina”; Best Production Design: “Mag-iina”; Best Editing: “A.ni.mal”; Best Cinematography: “Tayo Lang Ang Nakakaalam”; Best Sound: “Tayo Lang Ang Nakakaalam”; Audience Choice Award: “2 Valid IDs” (Full-Length) and “Hoy, Hoy, Ingat!” (Full-Length).