“100”, “Andong” Receive Honors in Pusan International Film Festival

Cinemalaya 2008 darlings “100” and “Andong” were honored during South Korea’s nine-day 13th Pusan International Film Festival (PIFF), which screened 315 movies from over 60 countries.

Directed by Chris Martinez, the dramedy “100” bagged the Audience prize, dubbed as the KNN Award, and $20,000 in cash. The film stars Mylene Dizon as a woman trying to fulfill her wish list before she dies. Lending their comical chops alongside Dizon are Tessie Tomas and Eugene Domingo.

According to Maggie Lee of The Hollywood Reporter, “100” is “thoughtfully scripted and performed with a delicate balance of gravity and humor.” (To read my review of “100”, visit: http://failed.multiply.com/reviews/item/166)

Meanwhile, “Andong” won the Best Short Film or the Sonje Award and $10,000 in cash. This film tells the story of an impoverished kid’s obsession on having P20 to buy a raffle ticket. According to the PIFF committee, “Andong” is cited for "excavating a truthful story from the midst of the city dumpsite and told it with witty humor and brilliant performance." (My review of “Andong” is coming up soon.)

Here is the complete list of winners:
New Currents Award (Best Film) – “Land of Scarecrows” by Roh Gyeong-tae (South Korea) & “Naked Of Defenses” by Masahide Ichii (Japan)
Special Mentions – “Members of the Funeral” by Baek Seung-bin (South Korea) & “Er Dong” by Jin Yang (China)
Sonje Award – “Andong” by Milo Tolentino (Philippines) & “Girl” by Hong Sunghoon (South Korea)
Mecenat Award – “Mental” by Kazuhiro Soda (Japan) & “Old Partner” by Lee Chung Ryoul (South Korea)
FIPRECI Award – “Jalainur” by Ye Zhao (China)
NETPAC Award – “Members of the Funeral” by Baek Seung-bin (South Korea) & “Treeless Mountain” by Kim So Yong (South Korea)
KNN Movie Award (Audience Award) – “100” by Chris Martinez (Philippines)

Aside from “100″ and “Andong”, the following Filipino films were also screened in PIFF: Jerrold Tarog and Ruel Dahis Antipuesto’s “Confessional,” Francis Xavier Pasion’s “Jay,” Joel Ruiz’s “Baby Angelo,” Dante Mendoza’s “Serbis” and Adolf Alix Jr.’s “Adela.”

As part of the Special program featuring Asian superheroes and animation, “Lastikman”, “Captain Barbell”, “Darna: Ang Pagbabalik” (and Indonesia’s “Darna Ajaib” as inspired by our Darna), and “Urduja” were also screened during the said filmfest.