Mission-accomplished.
Greatness beckoned as John Patrick Manio captured Best Film and Best Director awards for “Lysistrata” in the 10th edition of Sibul Film Festival spearheaded by Sine Bulacan and Bulacan State University Cinephilia.
“I feel grateful and relieved when the moderator announced Lysistrata as the winner. It is truly rewarding to receive recognition from the longest-running film festival in Bulacan and it also validates our production team’s efforts in our film,” Manio shared.
Lysistrata is a film that revolves around the story of a woman pained by her past and confronts the demons haunting her in the present. It is an experimental black-and-white short film reinterpretation loosely based on the ancient Greek comedy of the same name by Aristophanes.
Aside from the two awards mentioned, Lysistrata also secured the Best Cinematography award in the week-long festival that featured the talented Bulakenyos.
" In a perfect world, I would like to dedicate the awards we have garnered to those who are trying to overcome mental health issues but it would have been irresponsible and pretentious to do so . The tricky part is that the film may trigger people or viewers with mental health problems rather than comfort them. So instead, I want to dedicate this film to the whole cast and our crew who are very supportive of my vision since day one," Manio shared.
He is also looking forward to creating more stories in the future. In fact, he has just finished his second film and is hoping to premiere this year, should it get accepted in other film festivals in the country.
“The dream continues. We actually finished a second film a while back and I'm also writing a third film that hopefully gets produced this year, too. Both are loosely based on other iconic theatrical works,” Manio ended.
Other winners include, “Awaken”, a film by Arnold santiago won the Audience Choice and Alumni’s Choice awards respectively while “Ang Kuwento ng Dalawang Mundo” by Angelo Fernando won Best Teaser award.
Meanwhile, Sine Bulacan Director Kyrstal Gem Aviado feels elated that Sibul X Film Festival successfully mounted their event.
“Sine Bulacan on its 10th year would not be possible without our sponsors, our alumni Alt Multimedia Division, Mr. Regemrei Bernardo, our media partners, and the whole BulSU Cinephilia members. Everyone’s hard work paid off from the week-long 10th-year celebration until its award ceremony. We will continue the legacy, support local film artistry creating an avenue for young Bulakenyo filmmakers, and share their stories in the future,” Aviado said.
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