"100," "Andong" Win Awards in the 13th Pusan International Film Festival

Two Filipino films took home prizes from the 13th Pusan International Film Fest, which concluded yesterday, October 10, in South Korea. The comedy drama 100 bagged the KNN Audience Choice Award while the short film Andong shared the Sonje Award with the Korean film Girl.

Directed by Chris Martinez, the Cinemalaya full-length film 100 stars Mylene Dizon, Eugene Domingo, and Tessie Tomas. The award comes with a cash prize of $20,000 that is sponsored by Korea's KNN TV network. Eugene and Tessie joined Direk Chris in attending the film festival that took place in Pusan (also known as Busan), South Korea.

Andong director Milo Tolentino was cited by the PIFF for "excavating a truthful story from the midst of the city dumpsite and told it with witty humor and brilliant performance." The Sonje award comes with a cash prize of $10,000. Direk Milo's short film is about a six-year-old boy named Andong who is obsessed with P20.

The nine-day Pusan IFF screened 315 movies from 60 countries, with 85 world premieres and 95 Asian premieres. Fourteen films, including the film 100, competed in the New Currents section. The jury was headed by French actress Anna Karina, who is best known for her work with director/husband Jean-Luc Godard.

Indie Film "100" Have Sold-out Screenings in South Korea

Cinemalaya film entry "100" is in competition along with 13 other films in the section called New Currents of the 13th Pusan International Film Festival.

The nine-day Pusan IFF will showcase 317 films from 60 countries. Of these, 133 are world, international or Asian premieres.

100 tells the story of a woman (played by Mylene Dizon) who aims to fulfill all her goals in life in a span of three months because she is dying of cancer. Eugene plays her best friend who helps her cross tasks off her checklist as the end nears. Theater actress-comedienne Tessie Tomas is cast as Mylene's mother in the digital film. Mylene was supposed to attend the Pusan IFF but she did not push through when she learned that she was already pregnant with her second child.

Eugene Domingo and Direk Chris Martinez are currently in South Korea to attend the event. According to Direk Chris:

"We just had our international premiere here at the 2008 Pusan International Film Festival. We are competing against 13 other Asian films in the New Currents section. It is the only competition section here in the biggest film festival in Asia. 100 is the only Filipino film in competition.

"Both our screenings were sold out even before the festival has started. We had our first showing this afternoon [October 4] at 1:30 pm. Eugene Domingo, star of GMA-7's telenovela Ako si Kim Samsoon, was a big hit with the Korean audience and press. They all loved the film--laughter and sobs were heard during the entire screening. It was an exhilarating experience for me, Eugene and producer Marlon Rivera--our first international festival was an unforgettable experience."

In Cinemalaya 2008, the full-length film 100 earned the Audience Award, the Best Actress for Mylene Dizon, Best Director and Best Screenplay Awards for Direk Chris, and the Best Supporting Actress Award for Eugene.