(Eagle News) – “Walang Take Two,” a Philippine independent film produced by the Iglesia Ni Cristo’s INCinema productions, bagged the award for best director in a foreign language film at the recent 2016 International Filmmaker Festival (IFF) of World Cinema in London.
Director Carlo Ortega Cuevas of INCinema’s “Walang Take Two” (No Second Take), the first full-length film of INCinema productions, received the award himself in London on Friday, February 26.
“To be given this award is such a great blessing from God. The recognition the film received does not only apply to the production team and cast members of the film, but also to the Church Of Christ in its entirety,” Cuevas said in an interview after the red carpet awards ceremonies at the Crowne Plaza in London.
With this win, INCinema’s Cuevas was one of only two Filipinos who won in the prestigious filmmaker festival this year.
The award of INCinema’s entry “Walang Take Two” thus brought pride to the Philippines.
The other Filipino who made it to the winners’ circle was Carlo Enciso Catu for the film “Ari: My Life with a King.” He won as talented new director.
Aside from INCinema’s Cuevas, there were two other Filipinos who were nominated for Best Director of a Foreign Language Film at the IFF in London. They are Butch Maddul for the film “Kaleidoscope World” and Lusisito Ignacio for the film “Laut.”
INCinema received two nominations from the prestigious film festival: one for best director of a foreign language feature film, and the second nomination is for best comedy feature film.
“Walang Take Two was written and directed by Cuevas who has previously directed TV documentary shows. This was his first time, however, to direct a full-length film.
“Being my first full-length film project as a director, I have never expected this to go so far. I was blessed with the opportunity to be part of this noble endeavor through the Executive Minister of the Church Of Christ, Brother Eduardo V. Manalo. And because of his guidance and support, although most of the members of the production team and cast are either first timers in the field or amateurs, we were able to come up with an art piece that is filled with values anchored on the Christian teachings written in the Holy Scriptures,” Cuevas said in his speech at the awarding ceremony.
“This is in line with one of the tenets that the Church Of Christ upholds — to share the message of God’s work of salvation, and in this case, through the instrumentality of film,” he added.
The INCinema film, “Walang Take Two” was released in Philippine cinemas on September 7, 2015.
The film revolves around the ambitious but poor young Filipino filmmaker “Hapi” who wants to make it big as a first-time “indie” director and filmmaker. The twists in his life and those around him, punctuated with hilarious comedic situations and dramatic turn of events, are something that all audiences would appreciate.
The movie cast consists of first-time actors and actresses whose acting skills were honed only through their participation in previous INCinema short film productions. The INCinema films are among the projects of the INC to hone the cinematic talents of INC members who are interested in filmmaking, not only in the Philippines but in other countries as well.
The cast and those who worked behind the scenes –from its director, scriptwriter to the actors and actresses featured in the film–were in fact all winners in the previous EVM (Excellence in Visual Media) awards of various INCinema productions, which were held under the guidance of INC Executive Minister Brother Eduardo V. Manalo.
“The Church Of Christ, through the leadership of its Administration, will continue to uphold this noble endeavor, so as to reach as more people as we can, and we pray that may films like this be able to bring to them inspiration and hopefully lead them to making the right decision in life. In behalf of the people who have worked hard for this piece of art, we thank you very much for the appreciation and recognition that you have given to this project. To God be the glory,” Cuevas added. (DCY, Eagle News Service)
