Celebrating its first collaboration, Petron and Cinemalaya Institute proudly awarded certificates to the students at a culminating activity held at the Cultural Center of the Philippines last July 2, 2016.
For the past 16 years, Petron has supported the development of young Filipino artists through its Vision Petron National Student Art Competition. Previous winners of Vision Petron’s video-making category who passed initial screening were given scholarships to further hone their skills by participating in the Cinemalaya Insititute’s six-week courses on various aspects of film production.
Vyankka Balasabas, a student from the University of Mindanao and the first Vision Petron Hall of Famer for Video-Making (Grand Prize Winner, 2014 & 2015), feels very lucky to have been chosen to be part of the program, expressing her gratitude to Petron for providing her with the opportunity to meet people who have become her mentors. She also noted that she was able to broaden her knowledge in screenwriting. She participated in the Feature-Length Screenplay course conducted by Sophia Wellington, a screenwriting teacher at many film schools including the London Film School and London Film Academy.
Anne Malazarte, from the University of San Agustin and also a 2015 Vision Petron grand prize awardee, joined the Film Editing course. She describes her participation as a “humbling experience” with many challenges, particularly as many of her classmates were already professional editors. This experience has made her even more determined to do her best and continue learning. She studied under Jon Hammond, a faculty member of various international film schools such as the UK National Film and Television School, London Film School, and London Film Academy.
Meanwhile, 2013 Vision Petron grand prize winner Balaram Ochangco, a student from the University of Santo Tomas, took the Basic Filmmaking Course under Carlos Siguion-Reyna, a renowned film director and head faculty at the New York University Tisch film program in Singapore.
This is the second year that Cinemalaya Institute, which provides education, training, and accreditation of practitioners in key aspects of film production, has offered this intensive program over a 6-week period.