MANILA, Philippines?After their ?Manong Maong? was picked for the Short Film Corner in Cannes, Filipino directors Aissa Peñafiel and Miguel Ocampo topped a US government-sponsored filmmaking tilt online.

The duo?s three-minute film, ?Long Live the Fearless Man,? is one of seven winners in ?Democracy Video Challenge,? conducted on the websites YouTube, Facebook and Twitter. The other winners are from Zambia, Poland, United Arab Emirates, Nepal and Brazil. All were selected by online voting.

According to the tilt?s website, ?The winning videos capture the meaning of democracy in today?s world by incorporating thought-provoking creativity with thoughtful dialogue.? The site said ?more than 900 people from 95 countries? vied for top honors.

The prize includes a trip to Washington DC, New York and Hollywood. Peñafiel, 22, and Ocampo, 20, failed to go to Cannes last month (May), but are determined to travel to the United States in September.

?It?s a good opportunity to meet leaders from the film and television industries, as well as heads of political and social groups,? Peñafiel said.

Interesting concept

They learned about the contest online, too. ?We saw a post in a local e-group [sponsored by] the Cultural Center of the Philippines,? Peñafiel recalled. ?We got interested in the contest?s concept of allowing filmmakers to express their ideas about democracy on a global platform.?

As in ?Manong Maong,? which was shot after ?Long Live,? the two worked guerilla-style. ?It was pretty hectic,? Peñafiel said. ?We had to finish in three hours because our actor (Alastaire Tabilos) had to go back to work.? Like the directors, Tabilos is a member of the UP Mountaineers Club.

?But we enjoyed every minute because filmmaking is truly our passion,? Peñafiel said.

They had a meager budget, Peñafiel related. ?We edited at home, but we wanted it to look professionally done, so we rented [proper] equipment, like black backing cloth and set light for the shoot?

They used Peñafiel?s personal 3CCD Panasonic Vidicam for the ?gritty and stark? look perfect for ?online streaming.?

Winning was a ?pleasant surprise,? Peñafiel said. As bonus, their work received worldwide exposure??a victory in itself.? When the winners were announced this month, the hits shot up from 4,000 to 150,000 in a matter of hours.

?The comments [posted online] showed that Filipinos have much to say about democracy. We hope our video promotes critical thinking.?