The Philippines may not have struck gold at the annual Japan Prize, but it fared differently in India.

Two entries won awards: a Chinh Silver award in the Early Education category, and a Special
Jury Prize in the Films Made by Children category.

The annual Chinh India Festival and Forum is a unique venue for children’s media because it catapults the child to its proper place: as media subject, audience and as user.

What makes the event unique is the pre-school jury, a rowdy herd of precocious kids under six years old who watch films made for them and decide which ones they found most interesting
and engaging. The said judges are among the most difficult to please, with attention spans fluctuating because of a variety of distractions. Hence, when their collective attention is riveted, the film must be really good and one that speaks to them squarely in their own language.

The other categories higher than pre-school are also assessed by young people, no older than 15, and they come from different nations. This year, there were child judges from Nepal, Denmark,
Pakistan and India.

A CHILD’S SIMPLE JOYS

Independent filmmaker Milo Tolentino entered three films but only “Apak’’ (Barefoot) got the judges’ nod. Tolentino entered the festival without coursing his entry thru Anak TV and was alerted by the organizers that he had won.

The young filmmaker was engaged with a series of undertakings back in Manila and was unable to pick up the silver trophy personally. It turns out that his first feature film, “Si Baning, Si Maymay at ang Asong si Bobo” was due for screenings at the Gateway Cinema. The film was one of the finalists in the CinemaOne Originals Festival. Unlike the mildly violent Apak, that feature film, among other things, celebrates the simple joys, wants and humor of the Filipino child.

The heartiest triumph was that of Joseph Danes, an unassuming, a teener from Occidental Mindoro who, in 30 seconds, captured the angst, sweet vengeance and jubilation of a Mangyan high schooler who is ostracized and shunned for her skin and looks. At the end of the clip, aptly titled “Mangyan,’’ the protagonist emerges unscathed from the discrimination she suffers because she is able to avenge herself academically.

For Danes, 16, it was a long circuitous road to victory. He was nearly sidelined for advance training because of certain odd circumstances but because God meant for him to be further honed, one child from Mindoro dropped out leaving a slot empty. Danes was the immediate replacement.

Had that twist of events not happened, he would have remained in the island and not proceeded to Manila for additional tutelage.

That was the start of Danes’ eventful odyssey which brought him to the Young Hearts Fest in Manila and later in Bangkok. Even his Bangkok trip nearly did not materialize because of kinks in his birth records. He eventually was given a passport but under another name under which his birth was registered.

Earlier, he had helmed a short film which competed even with works of his fellow students under Anak TV and Plan Philippines. It was his “Mangyan’’ entry that earned the respect and nod of the international children’s jury in New Delhi. It tied for a Special Jury Prize in the category Films made by Children.

The Chinh Festival and Forum will be staged in Kathmandu in May and again in Delhi and Mumbai in November next year. Entries to the said events may continuously be submitted thru Anak TV.