The stars shone even brighter as "Help WanTed!" directed by Shaun Panugan and Abegail Del Rosario took the spotlight and secured major awards in the recently concluded Ateneo Filmmakers' Society: Cineatenista 2022 with the theme, "Bituin sa Madilim na Kalawakan."
"Help WanTed" is a story that revolves around Teddie, who is branded as a therapist friend. One night, she throws herself in the affairs of three of her friends and trouble ensues. This powerful narrative paved way for them to clinch Best Film, Best Director, Best Screenplay and Best Original Theme song respectively.
"It was really heartwarming. While I was watching the film before it was premiered, I got teary-eyed. I didn't expect that we would create a film with all the OSTs and all from the directors," Abegail Del Rosario shared with The Film Dream.
Another amazing fact to note is that majority of the production team of "Help WanTed!" were Grade 11 students that had no prior experience with filmmaking. This only shows that through the right amount of hard work and desire to deliver a powerful message, it's possible to produce something worthy of the recognition.
But what makes AFS: Cineatenista 2022 even more worthy of its success is their campaign to support the children of the SOS Children's Village in Bajada, Davao City. Through a donation drive via mobile wallet app, the organization was able to raise funds to support the needs of these children.
On the other hand, other films also made a mark in this year's film festival with their beautifully-imagined stories. "Banana Muffin" directed by Reyjie Gabriel Rosique won 2nd Best Film, and "Myke Test" directed by Nhyl Josh Ibanez and Isabelle Gallego captured the 3rd Best Film sharing the spot with "2.14" directed by Sofia Beatriz Carreon and Chad Adrien Liston.
Here is the full list of winners in the recently concluded Cineatenista 2022:
Best Film
- Help WanTed!
2nd Best Film
- Banana Muffin
3rd Best Film
- Myke Test
- 2.14
Best Open Category Film - Kaputli by Chynna Mae Dalogdog Best Director - Shaun Panugan and Abegail Del Rosario (Help WanTed!) - Jimmy Lei Bernales and Christian Alexander Almario (Dulom) Best Screenplay - Philip Wapaño and Aliah Tambuco (Help Wanted!) - Jimmy Lei Bernales and Khrizelle Mae Cuizon (Dulom) Best Editing - Therese Russell Arocha, Avery Clyde Dimasuhid, and Chad Liston (2.14) - Karlo Miguel Malbog and Aerize Mae Conde (Dulom) Best Cinematography - Christian Alexander Almario and Angelica Florida (Dulom) Best Actor - Francis Anthony Abadia (Dulom) Best Actress - Steffany Grace Bitaña (2.14) - Arabella Maxinne Garcia (Dulom) Best Supporting Actor - Christian Alexander Almario (Dulom) Best Supporting Actress - Stephanie Francine Bajo (2.14) Best Sound Design - Karlo Miguel Malbog, Aerize Mae Conde, and Jimmy Lei Bernales (Dulom) Best Original Theme Song - Tanging Hiling (Help WanTed!) Best Trailer Award - Dulom People's Choice Award - Myke Test
COMING SOON! Get to know more about the journey of the winning directors of "Help WanTed" only here at The Film Dream website.