2 Pinoy filmmakers win at Asian Hotshots filmfest

MANILA, Philippines - Two Filipino filmmakers won recognition at the Asian Hotshots Berlin Filmfest 2009 that took place January 13 to 18. Francis Xavier Pasion and Mark Reyes won top awards at the festival, besting other films from Japan, China, Indonesia, Singapore, South Korea, Pakistan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Thailand and India. Xavier Pasion won first prize for his 96-minute movie "Jay," a story about the murder of a gay school teacher that was told as a grim, incisive satire and textbook of the "corruptive and manipulative mechanisms of mass media." It is also described as a mediation on the ways in which poor countries are pictured as a spectacle. Xavier Pasion, who finished his studies at the Ateneo de Manila, worked as a soap opera writer for television and directed short films. His assignment as headwriter for a public service program inspired him to do the movie. Meanwhile, Reyes' "God Only Knows" was named Best Short Film at the festival. The 17-minute movie is a story about the plight of a woman living in an urban poor community and how she tried to look for foster parents or her infant son. The other winner for the full-lenght film is Marc X Grigoroff of Singapore with his "Salawati," a story of a 12-year old Malay girl's life that was changed because of a brother's swimming accident. "Invisible Children" of Brian Gothong Tan (Singapore) won second place for the full-length movie. - Joe Torres, GMANews.TV