“Aswang” (Filipino for shape-shifting evil spirits) conquered South Korea’s 12th DMZ International Documentary Film Festival, winning the White Goose Award for Best Film in the international section of the competition.
Alyx Ayn Arumpac’s debut feature was declared the Grand Prize winner during the festival in Goyang and Paju City, South Korea held from September 17 to 24, 2020.
The Philippines’ top entry to the DMZ International Documentary Film Festival that provides growth opportunities for documentary filmmakers in Asia, bagged KRW 15,000,000 (approximately 620,000 in Philippine pesos) worth of prize money.
Another Filipino documentary ‘A House in Pieces’ about the war in Marawi, directed by Jean Claire Dy and Manuel Domes, made it to the official selection of the festival.
The film directed by Arumpac was produced by Armi Rae Cacanindin of Cinematografica with the support of producers from France, Norway, Qatar, and Germany.
“Aswang” is Arumpac’s unflinching coverage of human rights violations taking place during ‘the war on drugs’ and follows people who were subjected to the violence. It won the International Critic’s Prize (Fipresci) at the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA) last year.
The IDFA-winning film was showcased in Daang Dokyu earlier in March, the first local film festival to premiere Aswang in the Philippines.
Filipino filmmakers are being recognized internationally amid the COVID-19 lockdown.
Lav Diaz has once again been hailed Best Director, this time in the prestigious Venice Film Festival.
Isabel Sandoval’s ‘Lingua Franca’ nabbed the “Best Narrative Feature” award at this year’s Bentonville Film Festival.
SEND CONGRATULATIONS to the team of Aswang for bagging the White Goose Award in Korea’s DMZ Festival.
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