MANILA, Philippines??Baseco Bakal Boys,? a docu-drama about children who scavenge for metal scraps in the murky waters of Manila Bay, bagged the Best Film Award at the 2010 Asian Connection Film Festival in Lyon, France, its director Ralston Jover announced on Tuesday.

The festival, held from Nov. 3 to 10, aims to discover and support young Asian filmmakers.

?Baseco Bakal Boys? received the Grand Prix du Public, besting five other films, according to the festival website. ?Piercing,? by Liu Jian of China, placed second. ?Mother is a Whore,? by Lee Sang-woo of South Korea, won third place.

This is the eighth award for ?Baseco Bakal Boys? since it premiered at the 2009 Cinemalaya Independent Film Festival, where it won the Network for the Promotion of Asian Cinema (Netpac) prize. Jover said he considers each award as ?validations of one?s vision.?

?Baseco Bakal Boys? tells the story of young metal diver Utoy (Meljun Ginto), who loses a friend in the middle of a scavenging activity in the waters of Manila Bay. Accidental deaths and disappearances are natural occurrences villagers in the Baseco compound have learned to live with. It is in this state that the film depicts the struggles of their lives.

?The kids are all in school now,? Jover told Inquirer Entertainment through a text message on Tuesday. ?Meljun is in Grade 2.? Meljun?s work on the film earned for him a Best Performance Award nomination from the Young Critic?s Circle.

Jover said the livelihood program for the mothers of the Bakal Boys continues. Film producer Albert Almendralejo and supporters from San Beda College and SM Foundation are also backing the program.