UP Mindanao student filmmakers bag 3rd place in 2024 MMFF

The production team of PNB 12-50 during the Gabi ng Parangal on 27 December at the Solaire Grand Ballroom in Parañaque City. (R-L) Ryan Paolo Resuena, writer/director; Hanzen Jornales, cinematographer/editor; Rachelle Baldonasa, production head; Lara Felescoso, assistant production head; Dan Oledan, actor. Photo courtesy of Salom Productions

DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / 28 December) – A group of student filmmakers from University of the Philippines Mindanao clinched 3rd place in the Best Student Short Film Competition at the 2024 Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF).

Directed by Ryan Paolo Resuena, a student filmmaker from Sarangani and a second year student of the BA Communication and Media Arts program at UP Mindanao, PNB 12-50 is the only Mindanawon entry that stood out in the contest.

“This achievement means that the world is starting to see the beauty and depth of Mindanao beyond the usual stereotypes. We are from a place where we are usually not in the spotlight, but through this film, we are able to show that Mindanawons have the capacity and the talent to make massive waves,” Resuena said.

The timing of the film’s recognition could not be more meaningful as PNB 12-50 follows the story of a father who was separated from his daughter during typhoon Pablo in New Bataan, the typhoon that struck the southern and central regions of Mindanao 12 years ago in December 2012.

Image courtesy of Salom Productions

But for the team’s director of photography, Hanzen Jornales, this recognition was also deeply personal.

“One fact I used to be shy to share, but I’m now open to about, is that it was only in college that I first entered a cinema and watched a film on the big screen,” she shared in her Facebook post after the awards night. “It’s quite ironic because I’ve always loved films, but growing up in a small town, going to the cinema was inaccessible for me.”

Jornales even recalled their first movie experience in January earlier this year, thanks to a friend who insisted they watch an MMFF entry.

Now, just 11 months later, she found herself in an extraordinary full-circle moment: watching their own work, PNB 12-50, on the big screen as part of the MMFF Official Lineup. 

Jornales also shared in a separate interview how ecstatic they were upon learning that their film was even one of the entries to this year’s MMFF.

“Ryan and I were walking back to campus the night before the announcement. We told each other that being chosen in the MMFF is such a far-fetched dream and that maybe that’s only something we could achieve in our 30s.”

The next morning, as she was scrolling through Facebook, she then said that her heart felt like it was beating right out of her own chest when she saw PNB 12-50’s poster under the familiar color palette of the FDCP pubmats.

“Anxious, excited, grateful—I perhaps felt every single emotion that morning. Until now, I still can’t fully grasp how prestigious this milestone is,” Jornales said.

“But this is proof that even those from the margins, with no big names or recognition, we can create something so profound on a national level,” she added. 

Bagging 3rd place in the student short film category, the team behind the success of PNB 12-50 will receive P50,000 and will have the privilege of being screened nationwide until January 7, 2025 alongside this year’s full-length MMFF entries.

The 2024 MMFF Gabi ng Parangal was held on Friday, December 27, at the Solaire Grand Ballroom in Parañaque City. (Allizah Keziah Manulat / MindaNews)