A short film directed by a Negrense has gained international recognition after it was shortlisted in this year’s Southeast Asian Short Film Competition of the prestigious Singapore International Film Festival (SGIFF).
Budding Negrense director Mark Garcia, a former journalist, announced Tuesday, October 26, that his film “Mga Bag-ong Nawong (sang Damgo kag Katingalahan)” is one of the 23 short films that will compete in the festival, which is considered as the largest and longest-running film event in Southeast Asia since 1987.
Garcia’s film was among the three Filipino shorts that were shortlisted in the festival.
Others were Shireen Seno’s “To Pick a Flower” and Lav Diaz’s “Himala: A Dialectic of Our Times.”
Garcia said he is honored to be included in the competition, and that Diaz is one of his idols in Philippine cinema.
He is dedicating the film to those who believed in them, the producers, the actors, the crew, his family, and friends, Garcia said.
SGIFF, on its website, said the variety and quality of these short films are a testament to the abundance of strong, creative talents from the region.
“Southeast Asia has never been a homogeneous construct, and this diverse selection not only offers a nuanced overview of the region but accentuates the complexities and specificities located within,” it added.*