Learning Pinoy values via short films

The National Commission for Culture and the Arts is set to hold the 2nd Sine Halaga Film Festival and Educational Resources, in partnership with the Negros Cultural Foundation, Inc.
The festival, through short films, aims to impart to students at least one of 20 Filipino values identified in a formal study in connection with Philippine development goals.

The study, conducted in 2019-2020 by educators Arvin Manuel Villalon and Jose Soliman Jr., was based on Chapter 7 of the Philippine Development Plan on "Promoting Philippine Culture and Values through Bayanihan."

"The films submitted to Sine Halaga were made in a way to evoke a response," Villalon said at the press conference to announce the finalists. "We would like to reflect who we are as Filipinos."

There are 16 finalists in the festival's second edition, eight each for the adult (professional) and student category.

Maximum length for professional entries is 15 minutes including opening and closing credits; for student entries, 10 minutes. High school students can join.

In the festival's first edition, 12 finalists in both categories were given grants of P100,000 each.

The 16 second-edition finalists will receive cash in varying amounts, bigger for the three winners in each category.

The eight finalists in the adult category and their respective directors are: Mga Handum Nga Nasulat sa Baras (The Dreams that are Written on the Sand, directed by Richard Jeroui Salvadico and Arlie Sweet Sumagaysay); Unsolved Equation (Dexter Paul de Jesus); Walang Hanggang Nangis (Lawrence Arvin Sibug); Basó (Patrick Lawrence Cabradilla Eugenio); Hinakdal (Arvin Belarmino); Ma (Miguel Legaspi); Maria Makinang (Gian Andre Rembrandt Dominguez Arre); and Write Here (Jake Muñoz Consing).

The student finalist films and their respective directors are: Lapis Akong Naghihintay ng Pantasa (Gerald Pesigan); Linden (John Mark Decembrada Laguardia); Sali-Manok (John Pistol Carmen); Bigktimasa (CM Bautista); Hindi Kita Malillutan (Vahn Leinard C. Pascual); If You Leave Me, Please Let Me Know (Patrick Pangan); Sakaling Mahirapan Ka (Karl Cedrick B. Marquez); and Malikmata (Jean A. Evangelista).

The finalists were chosen from close to 100 entries from Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao by the following jurors: UP Film Center's Sari Dalena, Skilty Labastilla of Ateneo de Manila University faculty, NCCA subcommission on film chair Teddy Co, Prof. Arvin Manuel Villalon, filmmaker-producer Baby Ruth Villarama; UP Department of Art Studies faculty Flaudette Datuin, award-winning documentarian Adjani Arumpac, film scholar-critic and UP faculty Rolando Tolentino, award-winning filmmaker Jeffrey Jeturian, and film critic-educator Tito Valiente.

Some finalists in both categories, including students, have been entries and winners in other national and international filmfests. Sine Halaga accepts them, provided it is only the second time the filmmakers will submit their entries.

That's what happened to Zig Dulay's 2021 finalist Black Rainbow which won Best Short Film and Best Screenplay at the 2021 Cinemalaya Festival.

Sine Halaga films are recognized by award-giving bodies. Rod Arden Cortez's Dandansoy has just won Best Short Film at the recent Gawad Urian.

There are finalists in the student category made by high school students, said Bañares, though he kept the names under wraps for now.

The first Sine Halaga Film Festival reached more than 5 million viewers in community, regional, national, and international face-to-face and online screenings, Bañares said. He also pointed out that Sine Halaga collaborated with more than 50 writers, teachers, artists, and cultural workers in its various educational programs.

"The purpose of Sine Halaga is to strengthen film literacy programs in the country," Bañares added.

The values that have to be implied in the festival's entries are: Culture, arts, and sciences; love for the family and community; attaining education; faith and spirituality; health and wellness; addressing basic needs; self-development or self-improvement; ensuring work and livelihood; peace and development; honesty and integrity; resilience; life and purpose, happiness; respecting and upholding human rights; care for the environment; love for country; shared responsibility for the common good; good governance; upholding the rule of law; creative excellence; and lifelong learning and adaptability.

Sine Halaga films can be watched all-year-round for free at the festival's website and that of the NCCA.