ILOCANO FILM GOES INT'L. The Rural Agents, a film about Ilocano life and culture that was written and produced by Gabriel Gantala, 22, from Sarrat, Ilocos Norte. It became one of the top 100 films included in the Hollywood Venus Awards (HVA) for 2020 official selection, outshining more than 1,000 other films from all over the world. (Photo courtesy of Gabriel Gantala)
LAOAG CITY – First, it was rejected from the list of official selection of the film festival when it was shared as entry for an independent film festival here in the Philippines in October 2019.
But this short film, Rural Agents, created by an alumnus of the Mariano Marcos State University-College of Teacher Education (MMSU-CTE), was shortlisted in the prestigious Hollywood Venus Awards (HVA) for 2020.
HVA is a free, online short film festival organized by the International Cinema Community (ICC) that provides international network for makers of short, feature, experimental, animation and documentary films.
The Rural Agents is a film about Ilocano life and culture, written and produced by Gabriel Gantala, 22, from Sarrat, Ilocos Norte in 2017.
The film became one of the top 100 films included in the HVA official selection, besting more than 1,000 other films from all over the world.
Gantala on Friday was delighted when he learned that his film was selected as one of the potential awardees, saying the extraordinary opportunity is one way to show Ilocano ingenuity to the world.
The Ilocano short film is a story about the journey of two brothers looking for their dog named "Rona" – the only family “member” they have after losing their parents.
The scenes of the movie were taken in the City of Batac, and the towns of Pasuquin and Sarrat.
The movie actors and crew members were his former schoolmates, friends, and some locals in the areas.
Gantala first shared his movie as an entry for an independent film festival in the Philippines last October 2019.
However, the movie was not included in the list of official selection of the film festival. But instead of giving up, he submitted the movie to the Urduja Film Festival in the same year, where it garnered three major awards – Second Best Film, Best Screenplay, and Best Child Actor for Andrei Coloma from San Nicolas, Ilocos Norte.
“Because of these recognitions it received, I became more encouraged to submit it to international competition.
“Then, I found an online platform that accepts short films from different parts of the world,” he said.
The Rural Agents was among the 100 selected films shown during the Pelikula: 100 years of Philippine Cinema exhibit held at the Ayala Museum in Makati in August 2018.
Gantala has already created 10 films since 2013. He admits that film-making is relatively challenging and time-consuming, particularly in delivering a believable story in a creative way.
Gantala is currently working as a multimedia artist in a photography and videography studio. (PNA)
