Far Eastern University (FEU) Communication students bagged the Jury Silver Award in the Three Shots Film (3SF) Festival last November 12, with the short film ‘Sakaling Makalipad.’

The film was the only entry from the university. Along with FEU, universities such as the University of the Philippines Diliman (UPD) and De La Salle College of St. Benilde (DLS-CSB) were also included in the top 20 finalists.

In an interview with FEU Advocate, film's director Rainner Cion described the award as 'fulfilling and unexpected' since the film was only produced last year for their course requirement.

The 7-minute short film focused on the suppression of rights and illuminated the killings of the farmers in the Philippines.

Further, the director shared that the film is a call to action to protest against the killings.

The production team includes screenwriter Rachelle Magalona, production managers Aberly Sangalang and Caroline Fajardo, director of photography Andrea Gonzales and their course professor David Corpuz as their creative consultant. 

With Cion as the only member outside Metro Manila at that time, their production team mutually decided to have him shoot the film.

“Nahirapan lang kami sa pag-iisip ng idea dahil requirement na three-shot lang siya… Kaya siguro maganda rin ‘yung naging resulta dahil pare-parehas kami ng vision (We found it challenging to think of an idea because of the requirement that is limited to three shots. Maybe it had a good outcome as we also share the same vision),” Cion shared.

Other than the concerns on technicalities, Cion underlined the challenge brought by the weather on the days of filming. As the scenes involved a kite, the strong winds led to three-day filming to successfully pull off the envisioned three-shot film. 

Fulfilled with the award, Cion emphasized how the win allows them to grow as student filmmakers, referring to it as a 'continuous learning' experience with the acquisition of new knowledge in film through their fellow filmmakers. 

Other finalists awarded are UPD’s John Thomas Trinidad’s ‘Boom Tiyaya’ for Best Film, Meridian international (MINT) College’s Jermaine Tulbo’s ‘Bulawan’ for Best Director, Gordon College’s Princessa Belle Isidro’s ‘Per Kilo’ for People’s Choice, Universidad De Manila’s (UDM) Peter Solano’s ‘Do or Die’ for Best Cinematography and UP Baguio’s Faith Carisa F. Lacanlale’s ‘Bagito’ for Jury Bronze Award.

Meanwhile, Cion expressed the importance of the support for films made by students, translating this to encouragement not only for their passion but also support for their advocacies.

“‘Wag tayong mapagod na magkwento nang magkwento… against all the restrictions… limitations… Kung ito lang ‘yung space na ibinigay sa ‘tin, isipan natin kung paano natin mapapalawak ‘yung space na ‘to... (Let us not get tired of telling more stories against all the restrictions, limitations. If this is the only space given to us, let us think of how we can utilize this space),” he said.

Currently, Cion is revising a screenplay for their academic project ‘Mission: Kalawakan’ that is scheduled to start filming at the end of November. In addition, he also teased about his passion project titled ‘Kung Nakikinig ang Buwan’ which is currently under the development stage.

Cion, who is currently in his graduating year, is taking up a Bachelor of Arts in Communication, majoring in Digital Cinema. 

He had already won several awards from previous film festivals including the 2018 Sinebuyas Film Festival which recognized him as Best Director, Best Editor, and Best Picture for ‘Si Cheche at si Choco’ and the 2020 Quarantine Film Festival which awarded him the Best Picture for ‘Day Off’. Cion was also included among the finalists for the 7th CineMandirigma, a film festival by the University of the East’s (UE) Silangan Film Circle (SFC).

- Laurice Anne U. Alas

(Photo courtesy of Rainner Cion)