FILM YEAR 2007-2008 WAS a landmark period for Philippine movies, according to Nonoy Lauzon, UP Film Institute cinema programmer.

?Last year, the Philippines won at least 28 international film awards,? Lauzon said.

The bumper crop, said Lauzon, is a ?fitting commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the country?s first recognition in an international film festival.?

In 1959, Lamberto Avellana?s ?El Legado? won the Conde de Foxa award at the 1st Bilbao International Festival of Documentary and Short Film, recounted film historian Doy del Mundo.

In 1961, Avellana won the same award in Bilbao for ?La Campana de Baler,? added Del Mundo, who is currently writing a book about the country?s first National Artist for Film.

Lauzon said Avellana won the Grand Prize at the Asian Film Fest in Hong Kong for ?Anak Dalita? in 1956 and Best Director for ?Badjao? at the 1957 Southeast Asian Film Fest in Tokyo. ?Avellana?s previous awards were from regional festivals, making Bilbao the first international honor,? Lauzon pointed out.

According to film historian Teddy Co, the country actually won 30 awards in various international festivals last year.

The figure could be bigger if the Philippine-Icelandic production ?The Amazing Truth About Queen Raquela,? which won the Teddy Award at the Berlin film fest, is counted in, as well as the triumph of ?Himala? in a CNN poll as Best Asia-Pacific Film of All Time.

Only three months into 2009, the country has clinched six more honors (for 2008 films), for a total of 39 to date.

Among the top-notchers are Cinemalaya entries: ?Jay,? five international awards; ?Brutus,? three; ?Andong,? three; ?100,? two; and ?God Only Knows,? one.

A perennial winner is filmmaker Dante Mendoza who has brought home several awards for three different films: ?Foster Child,? ?Tirador? and ?Serbis.?

Almost all the winners are independent films, except for one: Regal Films? ?Zsazsa Zaturnnah Ze Moveeh,? which topped a gay and lesbian fest held in Calgary, Canada.

?These awards reflect the vibrancy of the local movie industry, which has thrived despite the naysayers? predictions and the obstacles in its way,? Rolando S. Atienza, chair of the Film Development Council of the Philippines told Inquirer. ?This record-breaking year shows not only the resiliency of local filmmakers, but also their excellence.?

E-mail: bayanisandiego@hotmail.com.