SHORTLY before he left for the 69th Cannes Film Festival, where he brought the country honor, multiawarded director Brillante Mendoza held the Awards Night of his third Film Workshop at the Samsung Hall of SM Aura Premier.
 
Vanju Alvaira’s Ang Guro, a story of a senior-citizen teacher about to retire, and Daniel Palacio’s Idola, the story of a new salesman who gets inspired by a colleague’s achievements, only to realize the true meaning of success, shared the Best Picture honors. Palacio was also named Best Director for Idolo.
 
Rona Mae Lallana, who played the mysterious Igorota in Strawberry Girl, was named Best Actress, while Elijah Filamor from Idolo won the Best Actor prize. Special Awards were given to two other films: Nimrod John B.Sarmiento’s Repleksyon, which earned the Samsung Noteworthy Film Award, and Vanju Alvaira’s Ang Guro for the SM People’s Choice Award. The event was also highlighted by the showing of the trailers of Brillante Mendoza’s Ma Rosa, which competed in the Main Competition in Cannes, and Imago, a short film by Raymund Gutierrez, which competed in the Short Film Category of the annual French film festival. 
 
Now on its third year, the Brillante Mendoza Film Workshop is a joint project of Center stage Productions and SM Aura Premier. It is an intensive seven-day workshop for directing with introduction to cinematography, production design and editing, and acting, facilitated by Mendoza himself. This years’ batch showcased a total of seven films: Balitok, Any GUro,Repleksyon, Idola, Sarah, Channel 8 and Strawberry Girl, which highlighted new film ideas and engaging cinematic techniques.
 
The Brillante Mendoza Film Workshop is part of Mendoza’s advocacy to rethink and redefine cinema by sharing his knowledge and experience in filmmaking with a new generation. “This is also my way of giving back and training new generations of filmmakers and storytellers,” said the director, who is known for his advocacies and ground breaking films that tackle social issues.