MANILA, Philippines?Inquirer Entertainment was at the Cinemalaya Cinco awards show on Sunday night. We heard some interesting comments backstage from key people involved in the 10-day film festival.

First-time director GB Sampedro said all he had with him was his six-year work experience on TV when he began working on ?Astig.? I had zero experience on filmmaking. Television is an entirely different world. I didn?t even get the chance to watch any indie film before making my own. The award was something really unexpected.?

?Astig? producer Noel Ferrer on the film being this year?s top-grosser: ?We hope [other indie filmmakers] will just be happy for the success of a fellow indie project like ?Astig.? A special Boracay vacation awaits the writers of the best ?Astig? reviews. Just send entries to astigcinemalaya@yahoo.com.?

?Ang hirap gumawa ng pelikula, pero masaya. Gawa pa tayo,? said Jinky Laurel, co-director of ?Last Supper No. 3,? winner of the Best Picture Award. ?We didn?t aim to win. We consider it a reward to see our film being enjoyed by a lot of people.?

?I?m happy that the right awards were given to the right people,? Mike Sandejas, director of the Cinemalaya Cinco entry ?Dinig Sana Kita.? His daughter Zoe, who plays the lead character Niña, took the stage that night and sang the movie?s theme, ?Sana?y Marinig.?

Arnold Reyes (?Astig?) on bagging the Best Supporting Actor trophy: ?Nagbunga ang pagod ko. I didn?t expect to win anything, although I was hoping that Edgar Allan Guzman would be called for Best Actor.?

?I?m proud of the way ?Bonsai? looks,? said Borgy Torre, director of the film that won Best Short Feature. ?Despite the very limited budget, my production designer lit up the movie really well.?

Lou Veloso, this year?s Best Actor awardee (?Colorum?), said he shares his trophy with his ?leading man,? Alfred Vargas. To Cinemalaya Foundation chair Antonio Cojuanco, who awarded P500,000 grant to each of the 10 full-length finalists: ?You?re God?s gift to the industry. Sana mas dumami pa pera mo.? Marinel R. Cruz