Data gathered from: Bilingualpen.com’s “The Philippine Artscape: 2009 Harvest”
by Sherma E. Benosa
January 4, 2009
2009 was a breakout year for art in the Philippines as the world’s most prestigious festivals and governing bodies took notice of the richness and quality of Filipino art and performance. In particular, UP artists found fame and brought home trophies of excellence from various competitions in the international arena. They include the following:
Following in the footsteps of top newsmaker, Brillante Mendoza who won the Best Director plum in the 62nd Cannes Film Festival with his movie Kinatay (‘Execution of P’; ‘Butchered’), two other filmmakers made it big in international film festivals. Pepe Diokno, a student at the University of the Philippines (UP) Diliman, won two awards — the Luigi de Laurentiis award for Debut Film and the Orrizonti Prize for Best Picture — for his filmEngkuwentro in the 2009 Venice International Film Festival (VIFF). Founded in 1932, the VIFF is the oldest and one of the most prestigious film festivals in the world. Another big winner in cinema is Alvin Yapan, also of UP, whose film, Ang Panggagagahasa kay Fe (The Rapture of Fe) won the Golden Prize for the Feature Digital films time at the 33rd Cairo International Film Festival. Ang Panggagahasa kay Fe is Yapan’s first solo feature-length film.
In music, Beverly Shangkuan grabbed the top prize at the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA) National Students’ Conducting Competition held in Oklahoma last March. Shangkuan is a UP graduate (Bachelor of Music in Choral Conducting), summa cum laude. And in July, the Philippine Madrigal Singers, who have consistently brought honors to the country, were proclaimed the newest Artist for Peace of the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). They are the second Philippine group to receive the accolade, the first being the Philippine ITI Center’s Earthsaver’s Dream Ensemble.
Meanwhile in the literary arts, poet and literary critic Gemino H. Abad won Italy’s most coveted literary prize — the Premio Feronia-Citta di Fiano 2009 — on July 11 at the Castle of Fiano Romano, Italy via his poetry collection, Ordinary Times. Premio Feronia-Citta de Fiano is the highest literary award that Italy gives to foreign authors.
While Polytechnic University of the Philippines student Jophel Botero Ybiosa emerged as the grand prize winner in the photography category of the 2009 ASEAN-Korea Multimedia Competition for his entries The Guide, Festive Day and Reflection of a Culture, UP student MM Yu was cited as “Special Guest Artist” in recognition of her outstanding entries. Earlier, Ybiosa was honored as one of the finalists in the print category of 2009 Bangkok International Print and Drawing Competition.
This list is by no means exhaustive but gives a clear picture of the success that the past year has given to UP students, alumni, and faculty in the realm of the arts. We are confident that UP will continue this winning tradition in 2010 and continue to show the world why the Philippines is truly a haven for artistic innovation.