MANILA, Philippines?Young Filipino filmmaker Jose Lorenzo ?Pepe? Diokno, who won two top prizes at the just-concluded Venice International Film Festival, hopes to use his P4.8-million cash prize to fund a new film?after paying off debts.

A lot of people helped him make his winning film, ?Engkwentro,? Diokno said. ?Some allowed me to pay them on installment.?

He won the top prize Saturday night in the Orizzonti (New Horizons) section and the Luigi de Laurentiis Award for debuting filmmakers.

At 22, Diokno is one of the youngest to score a major win in the world?s oldest film festival (and among the 10 most prestigious). He is also one of the youngest Filipinos to win an international cinema competition award. It was the De Laurentiis award that carried the cash prize of $100,000.

His second film will tackle the plight of children caught in the war against insurgents in Mindanao. ?A journey film,? Diokno told Inquirer in a phone interview Monday, shortly after his arrival from Venice. ?Kids 10 to 12 years old are recruited as soldiers there,? he said.

?Engkwentro? tells the tragic story of teenage gang members hunted down by vigilante groups. Only his first movie, it won Special Mention in the Cinemalaya Digital Film Festival in July.

Asked if his grandfather, the late senator and human rights advocate Jose Diokno, had influenced his choice of subject matter, the filmmaker said:

?Maybe subconsciously, but it?s not something I intended. For me it?s not just a question of law or human rights. Around me, I see the constant struggle between good and evil, love and hate. Why make up stories when the life force of cinema surrounds us??
He is happy about the certainty that his victory will ?open a lot of doors.?

Meeting Ang Lee

And as far as he is concerned, another highlight of his Venice sojourn was meeting Oscar-winning filmmaker Ang Lee, president of the jury in the main competition.

When he left for Italy, Diokno said, his only goal was to meet his idols, three other Oscar-winning filmmakers?Michael Moore, Steven Soderbergh and John Lasseter, who were all festival participants.

?I didn?t get to see any of them,? said Diokno. ?But I saw Hollywood actor George Clooney from afar.?

And he cinched a souvenir snapshot with Ang Lee (?Brokeback Mountain,? ?Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon?) after the awards ceremony.

?My crew asked to have a photo taken with him and he looked for me,? Diokno recalled. He asked if the US-based Taiwanese filmmaker was now used to being accosted by fans for photographs. ?He just shrugged.?

Advice from Colin Firth

Backstage, he also met the United Kingdom?s Colin Firth, who won Best Actor for Tom Ford?s ?A Single Man.?

?He came ahead of us at the photo call with photojournalists,? Diokno recounted. ?He gave us good advice: He told us not to let the photographers bully us. He said the flashing lights could be blinding.?

Diokno also met the jury members who ?unanimously? awarded him the De Laurentiis?or Lion of the Future?prize, including US filmmaker Antoine Fuqua.

?They told me that they liked the immediacy of the storytelling. They said it wasn?t a perfect film, but that they saw something in it, and they?d like to see what I would do next.?

The jury cited the film for its ?bravery.? Diokno recalled, ?They said they found a long-distance runner from the Philippines.?

Distributors

Diokno also met with prospective distributors in Venice.

?Festival director Marco Muller said he would help us find distributors in Europe. He?s very supportive,? Diokno said.

Festival programmer Paolo Bertolin partied with Diokno and his Filipino crew after the ceremony. ?Nakipag-inuman sa amin (He joined us for drinks.)?

Lead actor Felix Roco, cinematographer Emman Pascual, sound engineer Mark Laccay, line producer Amor Olaguer, assistant director Bianca Balbuena and production manager Chie Floresca joined Diokno in Italy.

When the film won, Diokno said his whole contingent was stunned speechless.

?My first reaction was to look at Felix. I didn?t know what was happening because the ceremonies were being conducted in Italian. I just recognized the title of our film,? he recounted.

He later learned that the De Laurentiis honor included all first-time filmmakers in all the sections?including those in the main competition, which included Golden Lion winner Samuel Maoz (for the film ?Lebanon?) and Silver Lion Best Director Shirin Neshat (for the film ?Women Without Men?).

?I saw both movies ... and I was wowed,? he said.

He also saw ?Lola,? Filipino filmmaker Brillante Mendoza?s entry in the main competition. ?I loved it. I was at the official screening and the audience really appreciated it.?

UP thesis

He said ?Engkwentro? started as his thesis in UP Diliman, and that he plans to tour the movie on campuses all over the country.

Best of all, Diokno hopes to re-join Venice in the near future, and ?keep trying? to enter other international film fests as well.