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PH-made film feted at 43rd Hawaii Int'l Film Fest

A Filipino film student bags the inaugural award at this year's Hawaii International Film Festival.

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<div><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/GW2fF4QGUBo?&amp;ab_channel=ABS-CBNNews&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe> </div>A Filipino writer-director recently brought home the inaugural award in the annual Hawaii International Film Festival. Justin Ocampo made history as he took home the Hawaii International Film Festival and BMW Hawaii-Driven Student Filmmaker award for his film, “Kunyari.”The film’s title means “to pretend” in Filipino. It tells the story of two former lovers pretending to be together at a party in an act of self preservation against the expectations of their intrusive &amp; gossiping Filipino families. “I wanted to do something different,” said Ocampo. “Up until this point in film school, I had really only been doing dramas. That’s great but I wanted to explore a different genre and kind of test my ability as a filmmaker to work in a new genre.”One of the actors in Ocampo’s film said doing projects like “Kunyari” helps the younger generation relate to more stories that they can relate to. “It&#x27;s very rewarding,” said Jaydan Payumo. “We get to see more of the culture, especially in people our age, young adults, teenagers, I think a lot of people can relate to that.”Ocampo graduated from the University of Hawaii at Manoa School of Cinematic Arts.He began his passion for filmmaking back in high school in Saipan, and described theater as his own gateway into film.“My theater club in high school also did film every so often. It was kind of a seasonal thing,” Ocampo added. “You would do onespring theater show. And then you&#x27;d follow that up with a film in the fall.”In winning an award for “Kunyari,” the jury pointed out the film’s strong aesthetic choices, well-written characters, as well as its and dreamy cinematography that created a genuine and refreshing portrayal of Filipino culture. “It&#x27;s amazing,” said actor Charieze Cacayorin, “to be in a film that&#x27;s very prestigious because it was the first award for this specific event. And we were able to get that recognition. We&#x27;re just very grateful that we had such a huge community to back us up and to be able to support each other in how we embrace our culture together.”The young filmmaker plans to have “Kunyari” screened throughout Asia and to make it publicly available online in a year.<div> </div>

A Filipino film student bags the inaugural award at this year's Hawaii International Film Festival.

PH-made film bags inaugural award at 43rd Hawaii Int'l Film Fest

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PH-made film bags inaugural award at 43rd Hawaii Int'l Film Fest

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Lalaine Ignao | TFC News Hawaii

Published Mar 15, 2024 02:20 AM PHT

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