Raymund Ribay Gutierrez’s debut feature film Verdict has claimed the NETPAC Award at this year’s Hainan Island International Film Festival. It was one of three Filipino films that screened at the 2nd HIIFF, alongside Brillante Mendoza’s Mindanao and Grace Simbulan’s documentary A is for Agustin.

Filipina Actress Bea Alonzo was one of eight actors who received the “Asian Stars Up Next Award” at the 4th International Film Festival & Awards Macao (IFFAM) during the festival’s closing ceremony on Tuesday, December 10. 

The Philippines made waves onscreen and offscreen at the Singapore Media Festival (SMF) which hosted major events such as the 30th Singapore International Film Festival (SGIFF) and ScreenSingapore. Two Filipino films were part of this year’s SGIFF lineup: “Verdict” (2019) by Raymund Ribay Gutierrez and “Maicling pelicula nañg ysañg Indio Nacional” (2005) by Raya Martin. “Verdict” bagged the Best Performance Award for the late actor Kristofer King at the Silver Screen Awards.

The greatest and brightest names in Philippine Cinema were acclaimed at the 37th Film Academy of the Philippines (FAP) Luna Awards Night held on November 30. The biggest winner of the night was “Goyo: Ang Batang Heneral” of TBA Studios and Globe Studios, which won Best Motion Picture, Best Sound Design for Albert Michael Idioma and Alex Tomboc, and Best Musical Score for its director, screenwriter, editor, and musical scorer, Jerrold Tarog.

Filipino filmmaker Eduardo ‘Dodo’ Dayao’s newest project Dear Wormwood has won the IFFAM Project Market’s award for “Best Project” held at the International Film Festival & Awards Macao this Sunday, December 8. Securing the IFFAM Project Market’s highest award and $15,000, Dayao said, “I am very excited because it means we are on the right track with the film and all our hard work has been paid off so far.” Patti Lapus and Bradley Liew, the producers of Dear Wormwood, accompanied Dayao in receiving the award.

A coming of age film about a 14 year old farmboy who goes viral after attacking a classmate, “John Denver Trending” is the debut film of director Arden Rod Condez. The film has received critical acclaim with its timely treatment of the perils and frenzy of social media, and has been described as an “accomplished debut,” offering a “cautionary tale of cyberbullying” by Screendaily, as well as a statement on “the dangerous power of social media in shaping public perception and opinion...and its unrelenting negative consequences” by ABS-CBN.