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kevzdg · 7 years ago

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Gawad Urian 2017 Predictions

photo grabbed from: http://www.rappler.com/entertainment/31595-live-blog-36th-gawad-urian

Dubbed as the Philippine version of the British Academy of Film and Television Awards and the Oscars (then again, why does there have to be a Western counterpart to every Filipino original), the prestigious Gawad Urian comes back to celebrate the best of Filipino films once more, now reaching its glorious 40th year of ceremony. The judges are composed of a number of Filipino National Artists such as Bienvendio Lumbera, among others, and notable film critics such as Tito Valiente, all of whom can collectively be called the Manunuri ng Pelikulang Pilipino (MPP). This past year has been a spectacle for Filipino films as the nominees of the Gawad Urian have been multi-award-winning works in film festivals both local and foreign. I have seen almost all of the films nominated only by happenstance that I get to catch them in the theatres where they would have only about one to three days of screening only to be replaced by a Western film that would earn probably 10 times more than these independent films. However, this does not tamper with the quality (and, in a better world, the popularity) of these Filipino films that boasts rich narratives made by our own Filipino filmmakers. What I shall do is to assess, the way I see it, which film would most likely nag each of the awards; nonetheless, we must never forget that the film that wins the award does not necessarily indicate that it is better than the others; all of these films share a unique quality to their creative aspects and should be given the credit that they deserve given that they have been among the nominees of the Gawad Urian this year. Now, without further ado, let us venture into the best of this year’s Filipino Cinema (as seen by the MPP).

Best Sound

And the nominees are:

Hinulid, Mark Laccay

Women of the Weeping River, Albert Michael Idioma & Immanuel Verona

Ang Babaeng Humayo, Corinne De San Jose, Mark Locsin & Che Villanueva

Pamilya Ordinaryo, Albert Michael Idioma & Emmanuel Verona

Ma Rosa, Albert Michael Idioma

Paglipay, Andrew Milallos

Baboy Halas, Willie Apa, Jr. & Charlie Daclan

It is arguable, questionable even, whether foley artists from the other films deserve the award more in this battle of the sound than the sound recordists whose recordings are the diegetic (natural) sounds. Even thinking of assessing their mixing is difficult enough for me. But what I do know is that Hinulid has missed my watchlist this year, but I have a friend who was there to tell me all about it, and I’ll just trust his word: Hinulid has crisp sound. As for the other nominees, I prefer choosing as my top three choices Ang Babaeng Humayo, for its foley, also dubbed as sound editing or in layman’s terms the “making of the sound”, that sets the tone of the whole film, even in the silence that is marked by the cutting of the sound, notable in the air-videoke performance scene between Hollanda and Horacia as they were singing happily in the living room, Pamilya Ordinaryo, for capturing the rawness and grittiness of the sound of the streets and the despair that comes with it (better than Ma Rosa did), and Baboy Halas, for captivating the audience with the sounds of the forest and nature by carefully placing the microphone to record the hymn of the far-flung places deep into the woods of Mindanao and into the heart of the indigenous community.

Will win: Baboy Halas

Could win: Ang Babaeng Humayo

Best Music

And the nominees are:

Paglipay, Gian Gianan

Women of the Weeping River, Kit Mendoza

Saving Sally, Pablo Pico

Pauwi Na, Pike Ramirez, Paolo Villaluna & Veena Ramirez

Tuos, Jema Pamintuan

I’m going say this first and foremost of all: I don’t remember much of the music used in each of the nominees. To be perfectly honest, the trouble I have with this category is that music taste is completely arbitrary and different between individuals, that’s why I would assess the music by how it was incorporated into the film more than the actual score and arrangement. Probably the best scores, in my opinion, are Saving Sally and Tuos, where the former builds on a rom-com vibe whereas the latter centered on the solemnity of Filipino folk music. Narrative-wise, both scores have been blended well up to the point of karmic duty to the audience for a wonderful audio-visual experience.

Will win: Tuos

Could win: Saving Sally

Best Editing

And the nominees are:

Women of the Weeping River, Carlo Francisco Manatad

Ma Rosa, Diego Marx Dobles

Pauwi Na, Ellen Ramo & Paolo Villaluna

Ang Babaeng Humayo, Lav Diaz

Pamilya Ordinaryo, Carlo Francisco Manatad

Paglipay, Zig Madamba Dulay

Die Beautiful, Benjamin Gonzales Tolentino

I have not seen Pauwi Na but I heard that it’s good but the editing is just basic. The others in this category I definitely can comment about; however, the picks I have to place above all else are Die Beautiful, my prediction for MMFF 2016 Best Editing which lost to arguably last year’s best Filipino documentary Sunday Beauty Queen, and Pamilya Ordinaryo, which won best editing in last year’s acclaimed Cinemalaya 2017. Perhaps the better thing to say is that in my book, both could easily be tied for the position, with Die Beautiful’s non-linear editing that contributes to the power of its story-telling, and Pamilya Ordinaryo’s easy cuts from one pain to another whilst including inside the frames the poverty in the streets through the lens of CCTV camera footages; nevertheless, I placed Die Beautiful just a little ways up the road simply because I wouldn’t pass on an unconventional narrative tool that it used: telling the story in an uncouthed fashion (and give Benjamin Tolentino his Urian already! Recall his editing works in the masterpiece Transit and Dagitab, both from Cinemalaya, one from 2013 and 2014, respectively).

Will win (hopefully): Die Beautiful

Could win: Pamilya Ordinaryo

Best Production Design

And the nominees are:

Ma Rosa, Dante Mendoza

Die Beautiful, Angel Diesta

Ned's Project, John Paul Sapitula

Women of the Weeping River, Harley Alcasid

Pamilya Ordinaryo, Harley Alcasid

Paglipay, Aped Santos

Saving Sally, Erik Manalo & Rommel Laquian

Hinulid, Ryan Cuatrona & Celine Belino

Baboy Halas, Joel Geolamen

I was surprised to the core when I found out that Ang Babaeng Humayo and Seklusyon was excluded from the nominees because period dramas are raining on everyone’s parade in this category for the previous Urian awards (save for last year’s Water Lemon a surprise win for the coveted art department prize). This year, no period drama is even on that list! And there aren’t even notable winners from Filipino film festival’s Best Production Design on this very list (recall, Tuos from Cinemalaya 2016 and Tisay from CinemaOne Originals)! Excitement aside, I feel as though there are a lot of strong choices in this category, especially since I, myself, am now recalling Women of the Weeping River, the film I watched with my uncle the previous year: I never remembered it until this category and how raw it is as it boasts the narrative of land-grabbing and clan wars in Mindanao. I just have to make shots in the dark and choose as the leads Hinulid and Die Beautiful.

Will win: Hinulid

Could win: literally any film on the category because that’s how confusing this set of nominees are

Best Cinematography

And the nominees are:

Women of the Weeping River, Rommel Sales

Ang Babaeng Humayo, Lav Diaz

Ma Rosa, Odyssey Flores

Paglipay, Albert Banzon

Pamilya Ordinaryo, Albert Banzon

Baboy Halas, Raphael Meting & Mark Limbaga

Tuos, Mycko David

Yet another surprise! Ma Rosa is on the list! Why is it another surprise, one might ask. Well, the film “intentionally” mimics the shakiness of a handheld camera and puposefully does it the whole film: it being a directorial decision is just the distasteful icing on top of the cake. All the other cinematography nominees are not surprises, in contrast. However, I have to put as one of my predictions Ang Babaeng Humayo simply because Diaz placed the camera in such a way that incorporates everything that is happening within the frames of his film. Another is Tuos’ Mycko David who won best cinematography for last year’s Cinemalaya and whose works speak for themselves (Kasal (2014) and Children’s Show (2014)). And last but not the least, and my personal favorite and bet, Baboy Halas with first time cinematographer Raphael Meting and well-known director of photography Mark Limbaga; in addition, the director of Baboy Halas is the amazing Director Of Photography turned director Bagane Fiola, this film had the perfect ‘matog’ (cinematography) ensemble! And what came out is a smooth and powerful handling of the camera.

Will win: Baboy Halas

Could win: Tuos

Long shot: Ang Babaeng Humayo

Best Screenplay

And the nominees are:

Ned's Project, John Bedia

Pauwi Na, Paolo Villaluna and Ellen Ramos

Women of the Weeping River, Sheron Dayoc

Paglipay, Zig Madamba Dulay

Ma Rosa, Troy Espiritu

Patay na si Hesus, Fatrick Tabada

Ang Babaeng Humayo, Lav Diaz

Pamilya Ordinaryo, Eduardo Roy, Jr.

This is the most interesting list of nominees for best screenplay that I have seen in my years of following the Gawad Urian. We have a plethora of great narratives and great dialogue and great screenplay. Some may not be as serious as the others but that is what makes this an interesting group. I remember laughing my heart out watching the first half of the film Patay na si Hesus ironically enough since the title denotes something sad, but I was unable to finish it so I’m not so sure. Usually comedies are my choice for best screenplay and my most favorite prediction was last year’s Mercury is Mine a dark comedy which won best screenplay for Cinemalaya 2016 (and I’m still wondering why it isn’t included in this quasi-perfect list of nominees). If one checks the previous winners of this Gawad Urian category, which I did, one will find a long list of serious-toned films that boasts its narrative and characters, rather than the laughs it has given, and this year is no different (my year of predicting comedy to win this is still in hold, I am yet to look for the right opportunity). Instead we turn to Urian favorite Lav Diaz (who won around 2-3 times in this category) and Troy Espiritu who wrote for Brillante Mendoza. What we get are two amazing screenplays, one fit for the current drug war in the Philippines and one another dragging yet bountiful gender sensitive harvest from Lav Diaz. I must admit when I was watching the latter, I felt bored most of the time, but instead I focused on the dialogue and narrative. Personally, Ma Rosa would be my bet narrative-wise but there is a magic in Lav Diaz’s Humayo that speaks more than volumes and can only be understood upon watching. The other favorites of mine are Pamilya Ordinaryo and Women of the Weeping River.

Will Win: Ang Babaeng Humayo

Could win: Ma Rosa

Long shot: Women of the Weeping River or Paglipay

In an ideal world (personal favorite but I don’t think it would win): Pamilya Ordinaryo

Best Supporting Actress

And the nominees are:

Rhed Bustamante, Seklusyon

Barbie Forteza, Tuos

Sharifa Pearlsia Ali-Dans, Women of the Weeping River

Anna Luna, Paglipay

Joan Dela Cruz, Paglipay

Lui Manansala, Ned's Project

Lotlot de Leon, MRS

Meryll Soriano, Pauwi Na

Janine Gutierrez, Dagsin

Mariam Zimadar Haji Caranay Raper – Women of the Weeping River

Who would’ve thought that Barbie Forteza would be in this category? Because I’m sure I didn’t. Her acting was just simply okay in Tuos. Another unexpected nominee is Rhed Bustamante, the Maria child in Seklusyon (my wild guess as to why she’s here is because she had inappropriate lines spoken in the film yet was delivered convincingly). And, wow, look at Lotlot De Leon in this list! Her acting in MRS is as great as it sounds. Along with her on top are Sharifa Pearlsia Ali-Dans and Mariam Zimadar Haji Caranay Raper from Women of the Weeping River simply because they have a character whose sketch is written for them which they flawlessly portrayed.

Will win: Lotlot De Leon from MRS

Could win: Sharifa Pearlsia Ali-Dans or Mariam Zimadar Haji Caranay Raper from Women of the Weeping River

Best Supporting Actor

And the nominees are:

Taha Daranda, Women of the Weeping River

Christian Bables, Die Beautiful

Jess Mendoza, Hinulid

John Lloyd Cruz, Ang Babaeng Humayo

Nonie Buencamino, Ang Babaeng Humayo

Julio Diaz, Ma Rosa

Another great list of artists and first time actors alike. Julio Diaz added that rawness and grittiness of a character to identify with even though he is easily judged upon first glance. And we must not forget Christian Bables’ amazing portrayal of a pained homosexual bestfriend in Die Beautiful who is equally matched by another portrayal of a transgender by John Lloyd Cruz in Ang Babaeng Humayo. Also in this list is the magbabalut played by Nonie Buencamino whose presence in the film as a quasi-confidant is essentially one of the most important characters in the film. Another critically acclaimed character is one played by Taha Daranda who won as the best supporting actor in QCinema 2016 for Women of the Weeping River. Who do I chose?

Will win (only by a few marks from the second): Christian Bables from Die Beautiful

Could win: John Lloyd Cruz from Ang Babaeng Humayo

In an ideal world: Taha Daranda from Women of the Weeping River

Best Actress

And the nominees:

Nora Aunor, Hinulid

Laila Ulao, Women of the Weeping River

Jaclyn Jose, Ma Rosa

Cherry Pie Picache, Pauwi Na

Ai Ai delas Alas, Area

Charo Santos, Ang Babaeng Humayo

Elizabeth Oropesa, MRS

Irma Adlawan, ORO

Hasmine Kilip, Pamilya Ordinaryo

The list of nominees in this category has got me tumbling up and down, left and right, and in all impossible directions. This is the list that nailed the game and pitted the best against the best, both veteran and new. Laila Ulao from Women of the Weeping River and Hasmine Kilip from Pamilya Ordinaryo, both fresh from the new actresses pool have each won best actress categories in their main film festivals from last year. And here comes veterans Ai Ai delas Alas, used to portraying happy characters, have come in this year’s list as she played a depressed brothel-head and used up all her tears, and Cherry Pie Picache for Pauwi Na, playing a supportive mother. Best actress winners and veterans are also in this list, Irma Adlawan from Oro won in MMFF 2016 and Elizabeth Oropesa from MRS has won in Sinag Maynila 2016. In addition to those overwhelming wins, Jaclyn Jose’s Palme D’or is not some ignorable trophy for best actress too! From this pool is the multiple Urian-nominated actress Charo Santos who is yet to get an award as her ticket for this year is her acting prowess for her character Horacia in Ang Babaeng Humayo. Last but not the least, is multiple-award-winning actress Nora Aunor for Hinulid. How do I choose between them? Only God knows how. The only problem I have with this list is that Pokwang isn’t here for her convincing acting in Mercury is Mine, one of my favorite films from last year’s run.

Will win ( but, literally anyone has a great chance but my guess, which is also a long shot at best, is): Hasmine Kilip from Pamilya Ordinaro

Could win: ANYONE NOMINATED THIS YEAR FOR THIS CATEGORY!

Best Actor

And the nominees are:

Tommy Abuel, Dagsin

Bembol Roco, Pauwi Na

Garry Cabalic, Paglipay

Khalil Ramos, 2 Cool 2 Be 4gotten

Paolo Ballesteros, Die Beautiful

Ronwaldo Martin, Pamilya Ordinaryo

Pepe Smith, Singing in Graveyards

I did not expect Pepe Smith to be in this category! Add to that is the shock in knowing that Khalil is nominated for this prestigious award, not that he doesn’t deserve it but I just didn’t see it coming (at all). But what rises up from this pool, better than the rest, is Paolo Ballesteros for his rightful portrayal in Die Beautiful. And, perhaps a little inches below him , is Tommy Abuel and his protruding character from Dagsin.

Will win: Paolo Ballesteros from Die Beautiful

Could win: Tommy Abuel from Dagsin

In an ideal world: Ronwaldo Martin from Pamilya Ordinaryo

Best Director

And the nominees are:

Brilliante Mendoza, Ma' Rosa

Eduardo W. Roy, Jr., Pamilya Ordinaryo

Zig Madamba Dulay, Paglipay

Lav Diaz, Ang Babaeng Humayo

Bagane Fiola, Baboy Halas

Paolo Villaluna, Pauwi Na

Avid Liongoren, Saving Sally

Sheron Dayoc, Women of the Weeping River

Lemuel Lorca, Ned's Project

This long list is as powerful as it can get. A battle between auteur directors Lav Diaz and Brillante Mendoza against the newest wave of indie filmmakers such as Lem Lorca, Eduardo Roy Jr., Zig Dulay, and Shero Dayoc! Truly this is a spectacle. The way I would judge is not based on the narrative but instead on the director’s control over the totality of the film: how the film language is translated directly to screen, and how the elements come across each other in ominous ways. What rises above is, of course, veterans Lav Diaz, whose signature long shots, dragging yet powerful story, and a long end mark (almost 4 hours! The shortest full length he has made in his years of filmmaking) is present, and with that on the same spectrum is Brillante Mendoza’s poverty-infused narrative that coalesces the realism in each frame, and the ‘signature’ shakiness of footage (it is perplexing why he had to do this). What comes close but not quite there yet are Zig Dulay since his story speaks well to a gravity that is not so in-your-face that was achieved with just the right amount of control, and with him is Eduardo Roy Jr. and his translation of a narrative that takes courage and patience. But, it really is such a bummer than even with my analysis, as hard as I can scrutinize it in detail, the list of winners in this category is a truly unpredictable batch of individuals, underdogs, in some cases. So I would go by saying that I would rather a new director win than these veterans, and I really hope they do!

Will win: Zig Dulay for Paglipay

Could win: Eduardo Roy Jr. for Pamilya Ordinaryo

Best Picture

And the nominees are:

Pamilya Ordinaryo

Paglipay

Ang Babaeng Humayo

Women of the Weeping River

Ma'Rosa

Baboy Halas

This is my favorite award, and it couldn’t be more obvious. In choosing a best picture, I include my own personal biases as a large part in choosing rather than analysis of previous winners and that’s how I plan to choose. I base it on overall impact, social relevance, and personal taste. Instead of doing the usual would win and could win, I would rank them all in order of my predictions, one being the best of the bunch and six being theleast of the bunch.

1. Pamilya Ordinaryo

2. Paglipay

3. Ma Rosa

4. Baboy Halas

5. Ang Babaeng Humayo

6. Women of the Weeping River

Gawad Urian 2017 is happening on July 20, 2017. Catch the 40th Gawad Urian on Cinema One (SkyCable ch. 56, Destiny Cable Digital Channel 56, and Destiny Analog Ch. 37) on July 20 at 9 p.m.

Sources:

Villano, Alex. LIST: Nominees, Gawad Urian 2017. Rappler. (27 June 2017). http://www.rappler.com/entertainment/news/174023-nominees-gawad-urian-2017

Philstar.com. COMPLETE LIST: 40th Gawad Urian Official Nominees. PhilStar Global Entertainment. (27 June, 2017) http://www.philstar.com/entertainment/2017/06/27/1714143/complete-list-40th-gawad-urian-official-nominees

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