RALSTON JOVER?S ?Baseco: Bakal Boys? won Special Merit in the Vancouver International Film Festival, where it was part of the Dragons and Tigers Young Cinema competition, says producer Bessie Badilla.

The fest website calls it an ?astounding film [that] illuminates the plight of kids forced to think and behave like adults... as few other movies have done.?

A critic on pelleas.net hails it as a ?splendid achievement... devastatingly sad, but ultimately uplifting and deeply honest.?