DAVAO CITY (MindaNews/ 05 July) – “Daughters of Three Tailed Banner,” the first part of multi-awarded Bangsamoro filmmaker Gutierrez “Teng” Mangansakan’s film, “Moro2mrw, “ won the Grand Jury Prize and Best Artistic Achievement awards in the main competition of World Premieres Film Festival (WPFF) 2016.
The film competed with Vietnam’s “Yen’s Life,” Spain’s “Love Above All Things,” Malaysia’s “Redha,” and France’s “By Accident.”
“Yen’s Life” won the Grand Festival Prize.
The WPFF runs from June 29 to July 10 at the Cinematheque Centre Manila along Kalaw St. in Ermita. The awards night was held on July 3.
Festival organizers say the WPPF “celebrates the power and magic of film by showcasing the works of critically acclaimed, upcoming film directors from across the globe.”
DOUBLE WINNER. Bangsamoro filmmaker Gutierrez “Teng” Mangansakan delivers his acceptance speech at the awards night of the World Premieres Film Festival (WPFF) at the Cinematheque Centre Manila on July 3. His film, “Daughters of the Three Tailed Banner” won the Grand Jury Prize and the Best Artistic Achievement award. Photo courtesy of MOISES CHARLES HOLLITE
“Daughters of the Three Tailed Banner,” the first part of moro2mrw, “explores the stories of women and their struggles set on the eve of the inaugural of the Bangsamoro government.”
The film was made possible through crowd funding and the assistance of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) after its institutional partner backed out from the project following the January 25, 2015 Mamasapano tragedy that left 66 persons dead – 44 from the Special Action Force of the Philippine National Police, 17 from the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and five civilians. The tragedy unleashed an anti-Moro hysteria.
In his acceptance speech, Mangansakan recounted how they “braved a sea of skepticism, animosity and prejudice towards the Bangsamoro people as a result of the Mamasapano Incident earlier last year. Suddenly we didn’t have a right to live. We didn’t have a right to dream. We didn’t have a right to make films.”
Mangansakan is the filmmaker behind Limbunan, Qiyamah and Cartas de la Soledad among other films. Limbunan was the closing film of the International Critics Week of the prestigious Venice International Film Festival.
“This honor is for Mindanao cinema – a testament to the richness and diversity of Philippine cinema,” he said.
Mangansakan dedicated the award “to the Bangsamoro people who have endured the neglect, bias and injustice all these years.”
“This only proves that our stories are valid, that our struggles are valid. These stories are rooted on the ground, inspired by the voices of our people and their struggles. Our stories are the stories of the Filipino people too. Our stories also resonate to the rest of the world. If only the world can see us without the blinders, then we can stand with them and among them with equal pride,” he said.
“So I ask everyone here tonight. Become instruments in the propagation of the Bangsamoro’s quest for social justice, equality and peace. Let this be a celebration of hope. Let this be a declaration of a new beginning,” Mangansakan said. (MindaNews)
