‘Imbisibol’: Film about OFWs in Japan is Sinag Maynila’s first Best Picture winner

Viewers who caught the Virgin Labfest 2013 play "Imbisibol" may want to take another look at their programs. The play’s director? Lawrence Fajardo, who helmed the play after doing the critically acclaimed film "Posas" a year before.

The story, set in early 1990s Japan and involving the travails of overseas Filipino workers facing deportation, evolved into a full-length film at the Sinag Maynila film festival. It swept all but one of the prizes at the inaugural awards night on Saturday.



Fajardo and other members of the "Imbisibol" team were increasingly ecstatic as each award was announced. When accepting the first award on behalf of the production design team, actor Pen Medina noted the hard work that went into making the film, saying that they had to put everything together in Japan from scratch. Several awardees dedicated their prizes to the OFW community, most notably playwright and co-screenwriter Herlyn Alegre who mentioned her OFW father based in Qatar. The film won best picture, director (for Fajardo), actor (Allen Dizon), actress (Ces Quesada), cinematography (Boy Iniguez), screenplay (Alegre and John Paul Bedia) and production design (Fajardo and Rolando Innocencio).

The controversial coming-of-age story "Ninja Party", directed by Jim Libiran, walked away with a People’s Choice citation for earning the biggest box office gross for the first few days of the festival. This is the first screen appearance for actress Annicka Dolonius since the 2012 film Ang Nawawala, which also won the Audience Choice prize at Cinemalaya.

Tying with Quesada for the best actress prize was Kapuso star Alessandra de Rossi, whose performance as a single mother in the film Bambanti also impressed the jury.

The festival has announced that they are accepting scripts for consideration for the 2016 edition. Filmmakers can visit the festival’s Facebook page for more details. — BM, GMA News