YCC Bares Winners of Annual Film Awards for Distinguished Achievement in 2008

YCC bares winners of annual film awards for distinguished achievement in 2008

The Film Desk of the Young Critics Circle formally bares its choices for distinguished achievement in films of the past year. Adolfo Alix Jr.’s “Adela” made a clean sweep of all the honors for all the categories of the annual awards.

The gritty dumpsite drama of a grandma awaiting a visit from immediate family members on her 80th birthday was voted Best Film of the Year and conferred recognition for Best Screenplay, Best Cinematography and Visual Design, Best Film Editing, Best Sound and Aural Orchestration and Best Performance for veteran actress Anita Linda in the title role.

Established in 1990, YCC is the academe-based critics group with members coming from various disciplines. Through the years, they have become attentive observers of Philippine cinema constantly bringing into the analysis of film an interdisciplinary approach.

The organization departs from many conventions of other award-giving bodies both here and abroad in bestowing cinematic honors. For instance, the award for Best Film of the Year is reserved for the director such that no separate prize for direction is needed. The Best Performance award is most coveted as it is conferred on a screen performer whether male or female, adult or child, individual or as part of an ensemble, in leading or supporting role. To uphold a more dynamic and encompassing way of looking at films, technical honors refer to fusion of outstanding efforts in fields otherwise deemed apart. In this case, the Best Cinematography and Visual Design recognition covers both camerawork and art direction. Similarly, Best Sound and Aural Orchestration encompasses not just sound engineering per se but musical score as well.

“Adela’s” clean sweep of YCC awards is the third time for a film to achieve such honor after “Masahista” (2005) and “Inang Yaya” (2006). It won over the only other nominee—Brillante Mendoza’s “Serbis”—in the topmost category. Joining “Serbis” is “Yanggaw” in the roster of nominations for all the three technical categories while nods for Best Screenplay also counted “Imoral”—another Alix megger written by Gerry Gracio—aside from “Serbis” as scripted by Armando Lao. Anita bested nominees in the singular acting category that shows her to be the only female. Said nominees are Paolo Paraiso in “Imoral,” Ronnie Lazaro in “Yanggaw” and Carlo Aquino in “Baler.” “Adela’s” victory also marks the second time for a digital feature to clinch the Best Cinematography and Visual Design prize after “Death in the Land of Encantos ” (2007).

In picking “Adela” for top honors, YCC cited the film’s departure from the usual “catastrophic and sensational depiction of poverty.” Impoverishment is reckoned in terms not only of “economics but also of emotion and imagination.” The here-and-the- now “small sufferings of a senior citizen” living independently are set against “the backdrop of the greater suffering of a nation” plagued by corruption scandals in high places and a social system that generally neglects the welfare of constituents in the margins of society.

Awarding ceremony with forum to follow is slated on Wednesday, 11 March 2009, at 2 o’clock in the afternoon at the Pulungang Recto of the Faculty Center in UP Diliman.

A list of complete winners and nominees for this year’s YCC film awards by categories is as follows:

Young Critics Circle Film Desk Awards

19th Annual Circle Citations for Distinguished Achievement in Film for 2008

Best Film of the Year

Winner: Adela directed by Adolfo Alix Jr. (Bicycle Pictures and Visitfilms; Noel D. Ferrer and Adolfo Alix Jr., Executive Producers; Arleen C. Cuevas, Producer; Maxie Evangelista, Line Producer)

Nominee: Serbis directed by Brillante Mendoza (Centerstage Productions and Swift Productions; Didier Costet, Executive Producer; Ferdinand Lapuz, Producer; Antonio del Rosario and JC Nigado, Supervising Producers; Renato Esguerra, Associate Producer)

Best Screenplay

Winner: Adela (Bicycle Pictures; Visitfilms) – Adolfo Alix Jr. and Nick Olanka

Nominees:

Serbis (Centerstage Productions; Swift Productions) – Armando Lao

Imoral (Videoflick; Bicycle Pictures) – Gerry Gracio

Best Achievement in Cinematography and Visual Design

Winner: Adela (Bicycle Pictures; Visitfilms) – Albert Banzon, Director of Photography; Adolfo Alix Jr. and Jerome Zamora, Production Designers

Nominees:

Serbis (Centerstage Productions; Swift Productions) – Odyssey Flores, Director of Photography; Carlo Tabije and Benjamin Padero, Production Designers

Yanggaw (Cinema One) – Herman Claraval and Lyle Sacris, Directors of Photography; Donald Camon and Michael N. Español, Production Designers

Best Achievement in Film Editing

Winner: Adela (Bicycle Pictures; Visitfilms) – Aleks Castañeda

Nominees:

Serbis (Centerstage Productions; Swift Productions) – Claire Villa-Real

Yanggaw (Cinema One) – Borgy Torre


Best Achievement in Sound and Aural Orchestration

Winner: Adela (Bicycle Pictures; Visitfilms) – Mark Locsin and Jojo Jacinto, Sound Engineers; Ditoy Aguila and Junel Valencia , Sound Designers

Nominees:

Serbis (Centerstage Productions; Swift Productions) – Emmanuel Clemente, Sound Engineer; Gian Gianan, Musical Director

Yanggaw (Cinema One) – Joey Santos and Eduardo Velasquez, Sound Engineers; Von de Guzman, Musical Director


Best Performance by Male or Female, Adult or Child, Individual or Ensemble in Leading or Supporting Role

Winner: Anita Linda in Adela (Bicycle Pictures; Visitfilms)

Nominees:

Paolo Paraiso in Imoral (Videoflick; Bicycle Pictures)

Ronnie Lazaro in Yanggaw (Cinema One)

Carlo Aquino in Baler (Viva Entertainment)

Film Desk of the Young Critics Circle 2008-2009: Dr. Galileo S. Zafra, Dr. Patrick D. Flores, Prof. Eloisa May P. Hernandez, Dr. Gerard R. A. Lico, Nonoy L. Lauzon, Dr. Flaudette May V. Datuin, Eileen C. Legaspi-Ramirez, Romulo P. Baquiran Jr., Noel D. Ferrer, Eli R. Guieb III, Dr. Jerry C. Respeto, Prof. Neil Martial R. Santillan, Jason P. Jacobo.

YCC drew its selection from both regular and non-regular releases comprising the entirety of Philippine cinema output in 2008. Some titles had to be dropped out of consideration if they failed to have a total of three or more screenings before a paying or non-paying audience in any one or more public venues; or if they had already qualified for consideration in the previous year.