Two debut full-length features emerge as frontrunners in the Young Critics Circle Film Desk’s 33rd Annual Citation for achievement in filmmaking. 12 Weeks, Anna Isabelle Matutina’s complex drama about an NGO worker faced with an unwanted pregnancy; and Leonor Will Never Die, Martika Ramirez-Escobar’s cleverly eccentric send-up of Tagalog action flicks, both clinched five nominations including Best Film after the critics group held its deliberations last May 20.
Two other features are also nominated for Best Film: Ronald Espinosa Batallones’s Batsoy, a Cinemalaya entry about two young brothers in an Ilonggo village during the tail-end of Ferdinand Marcos’s regime; and Topografia, Gutierrez Mangansakan II’s contemplative film about two college friends who go on a road trip as the Bangsamoro government transitions into power.
Kapag Wala Nang Mga Alon, last year’s Best Film winner Lav Diaz’s rumination on police brutality and revenge, received nominations for its screenplay, cinematography, and acting. Rounding up the films that received multiple nominations are Bula sa Langit, Sheenly Gener’s drama about a soldier who returns to his hometown after fighting in Marawi during the siege; and Kitty K7, Joy Aquino’s erotic feature about a young woman who finds sexual freedom online after fashioning an alter-ego.
12 Weeks’s Max Eigenmann, Kitty K7’s Rose Van Ginkel, Kapag Wala Nang Mga Alon’s Ronnie Lazaro, Batsoy’s Sean Ethan Sotto, and the duo performances of Gio Gahol and Kate Alejandro in Bula sa Langit, and Felix Roco and Jess Mendoza in Topografia will vie for Best Performance. The citation is given to a lead or supporting role; or to an individual, duo, or ensemble.
11 films made it to a longlist after YCC considered 109 films released in 2022. The selection was further cut down to a shortlist of 7 films that received the nominations in various categories. YCC follows a rule of only nominating shortlisted films, with the exception of the Best First Feature category.
Winners will be announced soon.
Below is the complete list of nominations:
Best First Feature
12 Weeks, dir. Anna Isabelle Matutina
Bula Sa Langit, dir. Sheenly Gener
Leonor Will Never Die, dir. Martika Ramirez Escobar
Best Sound and Aural Orchestration
Bula sa Langit, music and sound design: Pepe Manikan
Kitty K7, music: Emerzon Texon; sound design: Lamberto Casas Jr.
Leonor Will Never Die, music: Alyana Cabral & Pan De Coco; sound design: Corinne De San Jose
Best Cinematography and Visual Design
Batsoy, cinematography: Jun Albert Morden; production design: Kyle Fermindoza
Kapag Wala Nang Mga Alon, cinematography: Larry Manda; production design: Lav Diaz
Leonor Will Never Die, cinematography: Carlos Mauricio; production design: Eero Yves S. Fancisco
Topografia, cinematography: Mcrobert Nacario; production design: Perry Dizon & Paramata Endawan
Best Editing
12 Weeks, Michael Lacanilao & Anna Isabelle Matutina
Leonor Will Never Die, Lawrence S. Ang
Best Screenplay
12 Weeks, Anna Isabelle Matutina
Batsoy, Ronald Espinosa Batallones
Bula sa Langit, Andrian Legaspi
Kapag Wala Nang Mga Alon, Lav Diaz
Topografia, Gutierrez Mangansakan II
Best Performance
Max Eigenmann, 12 Weeks
Sean Ethan Sotto, Batsoy
Duo: Gio Gahol & Kate Alejandrino (duo), Bula sa Langit
Rose Van Ginkel, Kitty K7
Ronnie Lazaro, Kapag Wala Nang Mga Alon
Duo: Felix Roco & Jess Mendoza (duo), Topografia
Best Film
12 Weeks, dir. Anna Isabelle Matutina
Batsoy, dir. Ronald Espinosa Batallones
Leonor Will Never Die, dir. Martika Ramirez Escobar
Topografia, dir. Gutierrez Mangsakan II