MANILA, Philippines?It was an auspicious e-mail. Returning from Easter Vigil Mass, New York-based Filipino filmmaker Janice Y. Perez checked her inbox and found a message that made her heart skip.

?I saw these words in big letters: ?See you in Cannes and welcome to the Short Film Corner,?? she told Inquirer in an e-mail interview.

It was surprising, she said, especially since her short film, ?Sabongero,? took a circuitous route to the premier world fest.

Before she could shoot this dream project, many doors were closed for Perez. She even lost a grant because the script tackled cockfighting in her home province of Cebu, a pastime considered cruel by animal activists.

Perez, an accountant by profession, remained steadfast. Three years ago, she had just come out of the New York Film Academy. In a 2006 forum hosted by the Independent Feature Project, she found her Eureka moment.

?One of the panelists, filmmaker Dito Montiel, told the audience at Lincoln Center: ?If you want to make your first feature, write a story you know nothing about. That will make you ? want to get to know it more.??

Perez took that to heart. ?I had zero knowledge on cockfighting before writing the script,? she said. And directing the film became a matter of ?vanquishing my own doubts and fears.?

She explained: ?It allowed me to take a deeper look into an unfamiliar world. I [managed] to shed my prejudices. It doesn?t mean I?m advocating cockfighting now, but I no longer lambast it. It?s a great privilege to share this story with the world, [including] animal rights activists, so they can understand this cultural phenomenon.?

Making it to Cannes? Short Film Corner is ?surreal,? she insisted. ?Two months ago, we just wrapped up work after an exhausting 12-hour shoot (in a Mactan cockpit, with cinematographer Ruel Antipuesto). I am humbled by, and grateful for, this opportunity.?

She?s eager to ?network with producers, agents, buyers and other indie filmmakers [in Cannes], as well as catch a glimpse of my idols Pedro Almodovar, Michel Gondry and Jacques Audiard.?

Needless to say, she?s proud to join compatriots Raya Martin, Adolfo Alix Jr. and Brillante Mendoza in the country?s biggest year in Cannes ever. There?s another Filipino film in the Short Film Corner?Miguel Ocampo and Aissa Peñafiel?s ?Manong Maong,? which brings to a total of five the country?s entries in the 2009 Cannes.

Perez, one of the founders of the first annual Indio Bravo Film Festival (set in New York next month), said, ?The Philippines just might emerge as Asia?s cinema powerhouse.?