Let’s watch Children’s short film as we celebrate National Children’s Month

National Children’s Month is celebrated every month of November. As a part of the celebration, let’s take a peek at the short films that were created in participation of Iglesia Ni Cristo Children Worship Service from various districts in the Philippines and abroad.

INCinema is a project of Iglesia Ni Cristo Church Administration that encourages brethren in the Church to create short films that promotes Christian values that could inspire people. This year, children showed their admirable talents and abilities and 20 film entries from different districts was chosen and was aired in the two station, NET 25 and INCTV 49. The awarding night for the winners of PNK (Pagsamba ng Kabataan) edition of INCinema was recently held last October 31, 2015 at INC Tabernacle in Quezon City.

Let’s read some of the reviews of students in some of the short films they have watched.

TUNGKOD (Benguet)

Written by: Isagani Yalong Bolleser

Cast: Kyrelle Gines, Arceli de Jesus, Armaine Manaoat and Keisha Figueroa

Directed by: Nathaniel Pambid Antinew

Synopsis: Tungkod is about the story of Tala (Kyrelle Gines), a blind girl, who showed good values despite of being abused by her own aunt, Elvira (Armaine Manaoat) and cousin, Divina (Keisha Figueroa). But together with her grandmother, Mamang Gracia (Arceli de Jesus) they hold on to their religion and used their God given values to spread the good learnings of the church.

Review:

Isagani Bolleser showcased a typical family movie which aims to provide good moral after watching the short film. The film was written somehow alike with the story of Cinderella, where the main cast is being abused by her relatives but on the other hand, this movie showed a different twist in the end.

The film dialogues were well written and were used to define each character’s roles and objective on the story. The casting was powerful especially with the two teen casts who portrayed their role quite well. Divina, the wicked cousin, was able to portray her role well. Keisha was able to depict the abusive element of our life. And the highlight of the film is the acting skills possessed Kyrelle Gines who did well in portraying the soft hearted Tala.

The film is well recommended to be watched and to witness the inspiring feel for those people who felt abused. The writer Isagani Bolleser was able to use the disability of the lead cast to be a medium for his message.

The film was well screen played with its length of 15 minutes, the director was able to provide the main concept of the story, which is endurance despite of all the challenges for after the rain always come is a rainbow.

This film will surely be a useful material for honing young people’s perception towards life. They can also learn that disability doesn’t define your weaknesses so nobody should use this against somebody else.

 

OKAY KA BASTE (Agusan Norte)

Cast: Bjorn Campos, Ida Casipit, Mhyles Datinggaling and Ermelita Casipit

Written and Direction by: Jonathan Campos

Synopsis: Baste (Bjorn Campos) has been widely influenced by his friends about acting mature. Overly confident, he did a mistake he was so afraid to admit he did. Guilt ran all over Baste’s body and in the end decided to choose the better choice.

Review:

Jonathan Campos was able to deliver a well weaved storyline boosted by his creative direction for the short film itself. The casting was good, and kid seems to be enjoying their craft. The dialogues could’ve been better if it was consistent, there were some part the kids were saying their lines purely Filipino, then will abruptly shift to English, making it hard for the viewers to identify if they were trying to portray an educated child.

We are to commend Bjorn Campos who did well on his role, he seem to be very comfortable with his role, his actions were précised with the assistance of the creative camera shots.

The cinematography was well done; there were creative shots which clearly delivers the message for that scene. The creative way of emphasizing the guilt taking over Baste’s mind was great, since they were able to add a dream sequence for that event.

Jonathan Campos also did a wonderful job by collaborating the latest trends for children and the latest technology for his film to enhance the values honing ability of the film. We have to emphasize the delivery of another story inside the film that was well timed to trigger the lead cast’s conscience.

By the end of the story, viewers will surely understand that the moral of the story is to be honest all the time and to always think of your conscience as your best friend in times of helplessness.

 

SA BAHAY (Cebu South)

Written by: Shan Daryl Falqueza

Directed by: Nicko Estrellado

Casts: Dino Bagayas and Joraica Tagacanao

Synopsis: A house is said to be haunted by bad spirits, Alvin (Dino Bagayas) together with his friends Topher (Jamil Bagayas) and Reggie (John Enriquez) were very curious about what is happening inside the house. As the story unfolds Alvin will then identify that the saying to see is to believe.

Review:

Shan Falqueza did well in adding a twist about belief and judgement on his story with the help of Nicko Estrellado’s good direction, they were able to provide a mildly thrilling film even just for a few minutes. With the length of 8 minutes, the story of the film was clear and was able to provide the lesson well.

The actors aesthetic aspect were good, they were perfectly fitted for the role, it’s just that it could’ve been better in terms of acting, the viewers can just feel that they were just reading their lines more than delivering it.

The makeup for Heart (Joraica Tagacanao) could have been better, it could have been emphasized more to define why she was called a monster in the first place.

The musical scoring was great; it was able to provide a thrilling feel in the part where Alvin was trying to uncover the secret of the house. The lines were good, given that Shan Falqueza was able to collaborate some of the church’s teaching to enhance the values honing element of the short film.

The film successfully delivered their story not to believe with what you hear until you see it and also to not judge anyone on their physical looks for this doesn’t define a person. This is well recommended for kids and as well as to their parents to be used as a material for teaching good values.

Reviewed by Clark Jason Mangahas, AB Mass Communication student

 

 Maniwala Ka Hindi Totoo ‘Yan (METRO MANILA SOUTH)

Kids are known to be easily persuaded, they tend to believe on things that they heard whether it’s true or not. Also, when we’re still kids, we love stories, stories that capture our interests, especially the horror stories. Yes, scary, but we still wanted to know because we are interested about it, though it will gives us chills at night. These stories make us believe that ghosts are true, that that they could follow us at home or even watch us as we sleep. But through the short film of METRO MANILA SOUTH – Maniwala Ka Hindi Totoo ‘Yan, they show that there is nothing to be scared of as long as you believe in God.

Through the help of INCinema, the films serve as a tool to impart Christian values through a work of art. In the film, Maniwala Ka Hindi Totoo ‘Yan, it shows good values that a child should portray, divulging different good traits shown by the character of Terrence. It would have been better if there will be a little establishment of each character, on how they plan to go that house and why did they invited Terrence to go with them?

The music scoring was good, it suits the scenes. The theme song was good as well, truly shows how adventurous kids are.

Kids will truly benefit to this film. The film gives a good lesson for kids who are always afraid of ghost stories, the darkness and beliefs of others which are just product of their imagination.

 

Nubenta Y Nuebe: A Review (BATANGAS)

Counting 100 sheeps at night is an effective way to fell asleep. But what if the 100th sheep was lost?

The film Nubenta Y Nuebe, was done creatively, starting from the concept, the script, the cinematography and the direction. It was a good choice of color grade that really fits the timeline of the story on the dream scene of the boy. It could have been better if the color palette of the lead actor’s costume on the dream scene was not that upstaging, he looks a bit off when he was on the scene where there are lots of company.

The actors were really effective, knowing that they are just kids. Balong’s character was really convincing as an antagonist, it add up color and humor to the story. The lesson was very clear and revealed artistically with the help of the editing. The production chooses a great location especially on the dream part.

The script was also well written and conceptualized, giving a deeper meaning and interpretation of a simple lost sheep and relating the ‘sheep counting’ on a Bible story about the Shepherd.

There are a lot of sheep we encounter in our life, we, even at our young age can lead them to the right path, by showing them kindness, by showing them the light.

 

Maiba Alis, Maiba Ligtas: A Review (QUEZON CITY)

If you are different, you are an outcast. But, by being different, you can make a change.

Maiba Alis, Maiba Ligtas wanted to show a child’s perspective on what is right and wrong for him.

Holding on what you believe is a good thing, especially when you know that you are holding on to the truth. Gavin’s character shows how a life of a kid at school goes, he gets to encounter different kinds of people but he also experienced being an outcast for certain activities, for he believes it is not right to join because it is not stated in the Bible.

The character of Gavin’s sister, Josie, also depicts a character of a good person, to be helpful to those in need and to hold on to what you know what’s right though there will be challenges along the way.

Those kids being different, attracts the attention of others, admiring the good traits they have. Shows how members of the Iglesia Ni Cristo are taught and disciplined during their young age. The film divulges how obedient they are to the Church’s teachings.

What I like best about the film is the musical scoring, it adds up to the mood of the scenes. The concept really shows the essence of being a kid, it takes you down memory lane and makes you reminisce your past experiences when you are on Gavin’s situation.

In the end of the films it sums up the reason behind their actions on the first scenes, it is because they are taught and guided inside the Church.

Reviewed by Ehdmarien Torres, AB Mass Communication

 

The other INCinema PNK short films are as follows:

Did you missed to watch some of them?

Watch them here: INCinema PNK Edition

You may also send us your reviews and opinions about the short film that you had watched.

Please email us at [email protected]

Happy National Children’s month! Enjoy watching!

(Film review by Ehdmarien Torres and Clark Jason Mangahas, Editing by A.V. Mendoza and MRFaith Bonalos)