COMMUNICATION arts alumnae Janina Gacosta and Cheska Marfori bagged the best director award for their film “Ang Gasgas Na Plaka Ni Lolo Bert” in the inaugural CineSpectra short film festival on Aug. 26 at Trinoma, Quezon City.
The film’s narrative revolves around a closeted gay man (Dido de la Paz) in his 60s, who chose to isolate himself in a lonely apartment, and a lonely widower (Soliman Cruz) that owns a vinyl shop.
“The film explores the bond between two people who have been treated as outsiders. In their grief and emptiness, they found a connection that will help bring back faith in themselves,” Gacosta and Marfori told the Varsitarian in an online interview.
The theme of this year’s CineSpectra is “Your Judgment, Their Life,” aiming to break the country’s stigma against HIV and AIDS and to empower filmmakers to transform narratives into movies with strong advocacies.
“With everything that is happening in the world right now, we just want to make a film that could still make us believe in the goodness of humanity. We also want to take part and engage ourselves with issues that affect the LGBTQ+ community or issues that trample on human rights,” they said.
According to Gacosta and Mafori, their experiences as members of Teatro Tomasino, UST’s official theater guild, “honed their craft” in storytelling and “ignited their belief” in the power and flexibility of storytelling.
Marfori graduated from the University in 2013 while Gacosta graduated in 2014.
Other Thomasians who were part of the production of “Ang Gasgas Na Plaka Ni Lolo Bert,” were Sherina Inza-Cruz (production designer), Jessa Espina (production assistant), Jessa Gaspacho (BTS) and Jose Mojica (music).
