MANILA, Philippines?Independent films?mostly shot with digital cameras on a shoestring budget?swept the 31st Urian Awards, handed out by the Manunuri ng Pelikulang Pilipino, the country?s oldest film critics? group.

Best Film and Director went to Brillante Mendoza?s ?Tirador,? which won three other awards: Best Sound, Cinematography and Supporting Actress (for Angela Ruiz).

Manunuri founding member and National Artist for Literature Bienvenido Lumbera cited ?Tirador? for its gripping portrayal of ?a community on the edge, of people on the run ... and its strong indictment of local politics.?

?Tirador,? which topped the Singapore International Film Festival in April, follows the intersecting lives of several petty thieves in Quiapo on the eve of a national election.

Cherry Pie Picache won Best Actress for another Mendoza film, ?Foster Child.?

Picache said her second Urian trophy is ?special? because Gary Tria, father of her son Anton, also won an Urian for Best Cinematography that night.

Young stars Jason Abalos (?Endo?) and Sid Lucero (?Selda?) tied for Best Actor.

Abalos said winning an Urian is like earning ?a medal in school.?

?Critics are not easy to please and this is my second trophy from them.? He earlier won Best Actor for ?Endo? from the Young Critics? Circle.

Lucero received his award from father Mark Gil who won Best Actor last year (in a tie with Rustom Padilla).

Emilio Garcia, Lucero?s ?Selda? co-star,? won Best Supporting Actor.

Best Music went to ?Tribu? for its effective use of Pinoy gangsta rap. ?Tambolista? won Best Editing and ?Death in the Land of Encantos? won for Production Design.

Alvin Yapan?s ?Rolyo, a Cinemalaya film fest winner, won Best Short Film.

The five nominees from mainstream productions, which included Senator Jose ?Jinggoy? Estrada for Best Actor (?Katas ng Saudi?), went home empty-handed.

Miguel Rapatan, chair of the Manunuris, explained to the Philippine Daily Inquirer that the dominance of indies shouldn?t be interpreted as an attempt to shut out or ostracize mainstream movies.

?It?s just that indie filmmakers produced more creative and innovative works last year,? Rapatan said. ?It?s also noteworthy that all the independent movies nominated for Best Picture have been screened or have won awards in international film festivals.?
Lumbera noted that, during the critics? deliberations, it was raised that some mainstream movies now exhibit indie film techniques.

?Mainstream is learning from the indies, in terms of use of material, technical approaches and truthful acting styles,? Lumbera said.

?There?s an osmosis,? Rapatan agreed. ?It?s healthy that there?s an infusion of indie techniques into mainstream movies.?

The marriage of indie and mainstream is very evident in the Urian awards ceremony, held Wednesday night at the Little Theater of the Cultural Center of the Philippines.

The simple ceremonies were bookmarked by performances by indie music makers Joey Ayala, Project Ganymede and ?Tribu? rappers. But for a touch of show biz, last year?s Best Actor winner, the openly gay Rustom Padilla, presented this year?s Best Actor award in drag.