The Bacolod Film Festival will premiere ten short films at SM Bacolod and Ayala Malls Capitol Central cinemas in September. The recipients of production grants worth 300,000 pesos each from the Bacolod City government are Chelsea Tasic (“A Flower A Day”), Charlene Mead Tupas (“Aninaw”), Juan Carlo Miguel “Jayce” Ferraris (“Blind Date”), Zack Verzosa (“Glub”), Pau Ortaliz Santos (“Laragway sa Karon”), Banjo Hinolan (“Manokan Country”), Willbryan Garcia (“Puli Na, Diche Lesly”), VinJo Entuna (“Sa Pwesto ni Pistong”), Oscar Villanueva (“The Mansion”), and Georgia Elardo (“Those Little Things”).
Chelsea, 20, is a second-year nursing student and filmmaker at the University of St. La Salle in Bacolod City. She started to pursue her passion in filmmaking during her senior high school at the University of Negros Occidental-Recoletos (UNO-R), where she directed two award-winning short films.
Meanwhile, Charlene honed her craft as an alumna of the USLS Maskara Theatre Ensemble and as a member of The Performance Laboratory, Inc. As an actor, writer, and director, she has contributed to national art festivals, conferences, and collaborative exchanges with theatre artists across the country. She garnered national acclaim in 2020 as the grand winner of Nespresso Talents for her film “Tsinelas.”
Jayce is taking up Bachelor of Arts in Digital Film at Mapua University Makati. He had his directorial debut in the short film “Please Hold…” in 2023. He also directed and produced the short documentary “Bacolod’s Drag Odyssey.” He also edited the short film “Saan Ako Pinaglihi?” for Puregold Cinepanalo.
Zack recently graduated cum laude with a degree of Bachelor of Arts in Communication at USLS. He joined the Bacolod Summer Workshop screenwriting class in 2022. He wrote and directed “Añoranza” and “Ritmo,” Sine Negrense Open Category finalists in 2023 and 2022, respectively.
Pau is a filmmaker with a background in screenwriting and video journalism. As a screenwriter, she worked on short films such as “Sinta” (2022), “Andromeda” (2021), and “Siete Palabras” (2021). She also honed her skills as a video journalist for Tolentine Star, the official student publication of UNO-R.
Born and raised in Bacolod City, Banjo has a Mass Communication degree from USLS. His background in theater and film production is complemented by his experience as a director, videographer, and video editor for various cable TV stations. He is also a part-time instructor at his alma mater.
Willbryan studied Psychology at USLS and is also an alumnus of USLS Maskara Theatre Ensemble like Charlene and Banjo. He has done acting jobs both on stage and on TV. He co-directed the short film “Indi Sya Si Jimmy” which had its premiere at CineKasimanwa: The Western Visayas Film Festival in 2023.
VinJo is a filmmaker from Bacolod City and who graduated cum laude at the University of the Philippines Film Institute in 2021. His film training includes attending Ricky Lee’s Scriptwriting Workshop in 2020, Inggo Petzke’s Experimental Filmmaking Workshop in 2019, and the Bacollywood Workshops in 2015.
Oscar studied cinematography under the Negros Summer Workshops and sound design under the Bacollywood Summer Workshops. Oscar’s love for screenwriting led him to dream of becoming a filmmaker, which came into fruition when his script was selected for the BFF.
Georgia is a filmmaker, digital media artist, and a graduate of La Consolacion College Bacolod. Her short film “Si Tinay Kag Ang Tamawo” was part of the 2019 Ngilngig Asian Fantastic Film Festival in Davao.
Catch the BFF filmmakers and their short films in Bacolod cinemas this September.
