IAFT Alum Wins .MOV Digital Film Contest

Jose Marquez Basa, who is a member of the first graduating class of the International Academy of Film and Television’s (IAFT) filmmaking program, took home first prize at the .MOV Digital Filmfest’s coveted “Silvershorts” Open Division.

The .MOV film competition is the first film fest in the Philippines that celebrates the digital format in cinema. This year’s event marks .MOV’s third season since the film festival’s inception in 2002.

Basa’s film, Ampo, beat out ten other films to take the top slot, and took home the grand prize of P100,000. His four-minute-long story depicts the strange turns a devout young boy’s life takes while under the tutelage of his grandmother. Basa was pleasantly surprised by his film’s reception, and shared that his inspiration was “a visually-impaired boy who lost his faith in God as he gradually lost his sight.” On his work specifically, “My film is more of an experience than a typical narrative. I’m so thankful to all of the people who organized .MOV. Filmmakers are always looking for a way to share their work, and they did that for us"

When asked for his thoughts behind selecting Ampo, jury head and University of Philippines Professor Rolando Tolentino described the film as a “great exercise in the poetic use of sound and image, with only one line of dialogue to capture a rich mood. It is found to be nicely short and the mise-en-scene has the right distance. Ampo has cinematic coherence as well as a certain sense of vastness. It is a film that opens up spaces".

The .MOV Digital Filmfest took place from September 30 to October 7, 2008 at the Robinsons Galleria Cinema, with parallel screenings in Bacolod, Iliolo, Dumaguete and Manila. For more information, please visit www.movfest.com.

About The International Academy of Film and Television
The International Academy of Film and Television (IAFT) offers courses that combine theory and application under the expert auspices of leading Hollywood filmmakers serving as faculty mentors. Located in the heart of Asia on Mactan Island, Cebu, Philippines, this tropical waterfront campus houses state-of-the-art facilities for filming and postproduction. IAFT extends a comprehensive, hands-on approach to making films and videos using the latest in equipment and technology. Courses are designed for aspiring filmmakers as well as industry professionals looking to advance their skill sets.

IAFT presents a unique internship program that allows selected students to work on feature films and television productions with Bigfoot Entertainment. Our curriculum serves to nurture the creativity and individual talents of each student, cultivating the next generation of filmmakers, and continuing the entertainment traditions of Hollywood and other film capitals of the world.
The International Academy of Film and Television - Asia’s Premier Film School.

For more information, visit www.filmschool.ph

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