The Filipino film “Amon Banwa sa Lawod (Our Island of the Mangrove Moons)” bagged the Best International Feature Film award at the Louth International Film Festival in Ireland.
Directed by film and stage director Anton Juan, “Amon Banwa” focuses on the fishing community of Suyac, an island in Sagay City, at the northern end of Negros. The movie delves into the efforts of the locals to resist foreign threats to their livelihood and their way of life.
In his acceptance speech, Juan expressed how important it was for him to receive the prestigious award.
“It is very moving for me [to receive this award] because the island [in central Philippines] where I shot this film is endangered [and faces] annihilation. So many other islands that face the West Philippine Sea (are endangered],” said Juan.
He said he shared his victory with the people of Sagay who helped make the film possible.
“I’m thanking those who have helped create this. These are the island people, themselves, who acted in the film and who helped create the film that no island or no people should ever be forgotten,” Juan said.
The film was shot in 10 days between April and May last year and the cast was from Sagay and Bacolod.
The full-length film also showcases the four-hectare mangrove forest of Sagay, one of the 10 eco-park destinations in the city.
In his director’s statement, Juan said the film “articulates the mangrove community, resurrects the lives of the people living and dead, their struggles and simple joys, their resilience, and connection with the environment, and their relationship with the sea and their protection of their mangrove island.”
He also added that the central dramatic line grows from the everyday resilience of fisherfolk, living by hope, work, and faith, confronting a global problem: the erasure of a people’s historical existence by power structures and neo-colonial moves on the high seas.
“Amon Banwa sa Lawod” was produced by the US-based Kellogg Institute for International Studies, Erehwon Center for the Arts, the Performance Laboratory, Negros Cultural Foundation, The Negros Museum and the City Government of Sagay.
Before its international premiere, Amon Banwa sa Lawod” had local screenings in Suyac Island, Sagay City proper, and Cinematheque Center Negros at The Negros Museum in Bacolod.
The Louth International Film Festival, established in 2019, is presented by the Louth Filmmakers Society in association with the Dundalk Institute of Technology.
With patrons including Hollywood director John Moore and acclaimed cinematographer Seamus McGarvey (ASC, BSC), it was founded to support emerging filmmakers and celebrate creative, challenging, and evocative cinema from around the globe.