?MUTYA,? a story of friendship and concern for the environment, bagged top honors in this year?s Animahenasyon Pinoy Animation Film Festival. The awards ceremony was held Nov. 28 at the Gateway Mall Cinema in Cubao.

Blog Caliguia Jr., creator of ?Mutya,? brought home the Best Animation (Professional Division) trophy and a cash prize of P100,000.

?Mutya,? which also won the Best Animation award for Category B (6-20 minutes), revolves around the unlikely friendship of a girl with forest spirits or ?anitos.?

It bagged the Hero?s Choice Award as well, given to the film with the theme ?Finding the Hero Within.? ?Mutya? will be aired on Hero TV.

In 2007, Caliguia?a former Inquirer comic strip contributor?won the Animahenasyon film fest grand prize for ?Inday Wanda and the Doodle of Doom,? which he co-directed with Jason Confessor.

Maria Cristina Sison?s ?Edison and the Moths,? about a light bulb named Edison who fights off a swarm of moths just so he can read his magazine in peace, is the winner of the Best Animation award for Category A (1-5 minutes).

Rebellious boy
The 40-minute trailer of ?Pasintabi,? by Jeff Capili, bagged the Best Animation honor for Category F (TVC/OBB/demo reel). ?Pasintabi? is the story of Reb, who was raised by his grandfather, Apang, an albularyo. His rebellious attitude causes Reb to be trapped in a world that he thought existed only in his grandfather?s imagination. There he learns to appreciate Apang, the person who loves him the most.

Neil Paul Molina?s ?Clownes? is the winner of the Best Animation (Category H: 1-5 minutes) award under the Student/Amateur Division. ?Clownes? is a short film about a deviant born from the mistakes of a factory. His errors became his strength, giving freedom to his people in the end.

?The Handbook,? by Jose Luis Buan, is the winner of the Best Animation (Category I: 6-20 minutes) award, also under the Student/Amateur Division. The feature centers on the highly intellectual Kai Marcelo, president of the student council of the all-girl school Erylton Academy. She refuses to believe that love exists until she meets Nathan, a kind but happy-go-lucky transferee student.

?The Handbook? also bagged the Audience?s Choice award.

Winner of the award for Best Animation (Category K: music video, Student/Amateur Division) is John Kristoffer Sta. Clara?s ?Yugto,? about two former friends engaged in a fight in the middle of a desert.

?Philips Light Bulb,? by Samuel Elias Kirk Bacsai, bagged the Best Animation (Category L: TVC//OBB/demo reel) award. This 30-second TV ad is about Albert Einstein trying to solve the equation e=mc2. He has an idea and a light bulb pops above his head. The bulb starts to flicker, and then it breaks. He replaces the broken bulb with a Philips light bulb and solves the equation.

?Lukso,? by John Kristoffer Sta. Clara of Ateneo de Naga University, was heralded the Best Regional Entry. The film is about a rag doll in black and white that dreams of having colors. In order to do so, he needs to jump to an unfamiliar platform.

Allan Ray Bumanglag received a special citation for his work on ?Robotica,? about a distant planet called Tron World that?s controlled by machines.

?Outstanding work?
?Robotica? is the only entry in Category J (21-40 minutes). ?The jury saw that it?s an outstanding work,? explained Michael Kho Lim, executive director of the Animation Council of the Philippines, producer of the Animahenasyon film fest.

The late cartoonist Jose Zabala Santos is the recipient of this year?s Lifetime Achievement award. The recognition is for Santos? significant contributions and outstanding original body of work that have shaped the beginning of Philippine animation, said Lim.

The first Animahenasyon Institutional Award was given to the Digital Arts and Computer Animation department of the Ateneo de Naga University for its consistent and active participation in the festival for three consecutive years and for producing a body of animated works on a par with industry standards.

The Animation Council of the Philippines, or Acpi, producer of Animahenasyon, aims to encourage the development of original Filipino content in animation.