In celebration of the 85th Dia de la Ciudad de Zamboanga every 26th of February, the city government once again held the Zamboanga Film Festival (ZFF), an event open to Zamboangueňo filmmakers of all ages—may they be professionals, amateurs, or students.
This year’s event watched 15 short films, touching on various subject matters and themes, all of which vied for the different awards and prizes at stake. Out of the 15 works that were contested, six were produced by different AdZU Alumni.
“Ola” by Lorraine “Mijan” Jumalon received a total of six nominations and won four awards, namely, Best Film, Best Director, Best Screenplay, and Best Production Design. The film was given recognition for its excellence in artistry. It was also previously awarded as the Best in Technical during the Cinemarya Film Festival-Pista ng Pelikulang Pilipino in 2020 and the Best Short Film in the 44th Gawad Urian last 2021. “Ola” revolves around a grieving artist five years after her daughter’s death. It was inspired by the director’s loss of her second son during childbirth in 2015.
Meanwhile, “Florea” by Bea Luistro won the title for 2nd Best Film while “Adira” by Jorzheema Hamid won the 3rd Best Film award. Lawrence Agustin was awarded Best Cinematography and Best Film Editing and Jullienne Tuazon for Best Sound Scoring, both for their work on “Florea.” Czarina Lynne Yecla was also awarded Best Actress for their performance in the film Adira.
This year’s film fest had centered on no particular theme. The awards were determined by the screening committee according to each category. The awarding ceremony was held at Paseo del Mar open stage on March 26.
The winners for the film category were all given a plaque with P20,000 for the Overall Best Film, P15,000 for the 2nd Best Film, and P10,000 for the 3rd Best Film. All special awards winners were awarded plaques with P2,000 each.