MANILA, Philippines?Two Filipino films won top prizes at the Asian Hot Shots festival held in Berlin Jan. 13 to 18. The news was relayed to Inquirer by Axel Estein, festival programmer.
The films, Francis Xavier Pasion?s ?Jay? and Mark V. Reyes? ?God Only Knows,? are products of Cinemalaya 2008.
?Jay? tied with Marc X. Grigoroff?s ?Salawati? from Singapore for Best Feature Film. In the Short Film race, ?God Only Knows? was the sole winner.
The prizes are dubbed Green Chilies Audience Awards, explained Estein, because viewers pick the winners.
In an SMS, Pasion said, ?I hope more Filipinos get to see it, too.? A critique on a reality program?s mishandling of the murder of a gay man, ?Jay? will have a theatrical run in SM Cinemas starting Feb. 4.
The Best Feature Film winner in Cinemalaya, ?Jay? previously won Special Mention prizes at the Bangkok and Bahamas film fests.
Set in Smokey Mountain, ?God Only Knows? tells of a young mother torn between her son and her own hopes for life.
It won the Best Director and Audience Awards in last year?s Cinemalaya; Best Short in the Asian Cinevision and Special Jury Mention in the Ojai (Ca.) Film Fest.
