Despite a film rating controversy, Khavn’s (real name: Khavn Dela Cruz) Balangiga: Howling Wilderness, won top prizes at Quezon City International Film Festival (QCinema)’s Pylon Awards held on Oct. 26, including the coveted Best Picture and Best Director awards.

“This is for my mother who always wanted me to make a film she could understand…I’ve done 51 films but this was the hardest film to make, it was even more difficult afterwards but that’s a different story,” said Mr. Dela Cruz during his acceptance speech.

On Oct. 23, Mr. Dela Cruz took to Facebook to protest Balangiga’s ratings change from General Patronage (GP) to Restricted-13 (R-13) by the QCinema officials.

He said that after two screenings (the festival started on Oct. 19), Balangiga went from GP to R-13 without informing its creators.

“Just like that, R-13. It was that fast. We were only informed through a text of an assistant and via a Facebook message…Were we informed which specific scene or scenes caused the unprecedented pa-R13? No. Were we consulted prior to the R13? No. Were we informed of our remedies? No,” he said in his post.

In a statement furnished to the press, the QCinema officials led by festival director Eduardo J. Lejano, maintained that “after a meeting with the Balangiga: Howling Wilderness filmmakers, QCinema is upholding its prerogative to maintain its recommended rating of R-13 during its festival screenings.”

Though in a succeeding statement, the film festival acknowledged that there was a “lapse in the rating procedures that we are now addressing so that changes may be implemented in the future.”

The ratings change during the festival was said to be due to Balangiga failing to submit their final cut in time thus the festival only got to see it during its very first screening, leaving no time for a proper review.”

The scenes they found objectionable, in a message Vice Mayor Ma. Josefina Belmonte-Alimurung passed to BusinessWorld from Mr. Lejano (through a Facebook message), were about “animal cruelty and child exploitation that we [are] asking them to address.”

The film festival pointed out scenes about animal cruelty that prompted the R-13 rating–a rating Mr. Dela Cruz said would “kill their theatrical release” as the MTRCB “jacks up ratings” once they submit the film for rating in order to get a nationwide release.

“Why does this anger us? Because it buries our theatrical release. Few malls risk R16. And they refuse to show R18 altogether. So goodbye screening in Tacloban malls. Goodbye screening in malls after this QCinema run. Above all, we’re sorry we promised to screen this in your public school, Justine Samson, during your Christmas Party. Our R13 has made sure that won’t ever happen,” he said in his post.

Mr. Dela Cruz said they only killed livestock–a goat, a pig and a carabao–unlike Alvin Yapan’s Oro (2016) whose scene about killing a dog and eating caused enough furor to merit a Senate hearing.

The Movie Television Review Classification Board has given QCinema the power to self-regulate its entries and QCinema has been allowing its filmmakers to self-rate their films for the past three years.

But beyond the controversy, the film about the Balangiga massacre of 1901, took home the night’s top prizes (Best Director and Best Picture) alongside a Best Actor Award for Justine Samson and a Best Supporting Actor Award for Pio del Rio.

In its Best Picture citation, QCinema hailed Balangiga for its “solid vision, with sensitive performances paired with strong visual, aural and poetic narrative. It is an elegy to the tragic history of the Philippines as seen through the eyes of a boy that is both a celebration and a lamentation of humanity.”

“Dapol Tan Payawar Na Tayug 1931 (The Ashes and Ghosts of Tayug 1931)” by Christopher Gozum won the Circle Competition NETPAC Jury Award and was recognized for “making aware how important it is to recognize and acknowledge a people’s history to develop their identity and the nation as a whole.”

Meanwhile, Mikhail Red’s third full-length feature, Neomanila won the Audience Choice Award and the award for Best Artistic Achievement for Myko David, the cinematographer of the film.

Jally Nae Gibaliga won Best Actress for The Chanters  by James Robin Mayo while Sheenly Gener won Best Supporting Actress for Dormitoryo (Walang Katapusang Kwarto) by Emerson Reyes.

The Chanters also won Best Screenplay (Andrian Legaspi and John Bedia) and Dormitoryo  also won the Circle Competition Gender Sensitivity award for “its ensemble gathering of various characters with diverse sexual leanings and preferences that hilariously portrays acceptance of reversals in stereotypes.”

All winners are given the Pylon Trophy designed by visual artist and sculptor Reg Yuson.

Below are the list of winners of this year’s QCinema (which runs until Oct. 28):

QC Shorts Audience Awards: Kun’ di Man  by Phyllis Grande

Audience Choice (Feature length): Neomanila by Mikhail Red

Circle Best Film (Feature length): Balangiga: Howling Wilderness by Khavn

Best Film (Asian Next Wave): Marlina the Murder in Four Acts by Mouly Surya

Best Picture (Short film): Babylon  by Keith Deligero

Rainbow QC Best Picture: Close-Knit by Naoko Ogigami

NETPAC Jury Prize (Circle): Dapol Tan Payawar Na Tayug 1931 by Christopher Gozum

NETPAC Jury Prize (Rainbow QC): Beach Rats  by Eliza Hittman

NETPAC Jury Prize (Asian Next Wave): Snow Woman by Kiki Sugino

NETPAC Jury Prize (Short film): Gikan Sa Ngitngit Nga Kinailadman by Kiri Dalena

Gender Sensitivity Award: Dormitoryo (Mga Walang Katapusang Kwarto) by Emerson Reyes

Best Director: Khavn for Balangiga: Howling Wilderness

Best Screenplay: Andrian Legaspi and John Bedia  for The Chanters

Best Artistic Achievement : Myko David for Neomanila (Cinematography)

Best Actress: Jally Nae Gilbaliga for The Chanters

Best Supporting Actress: Sheenly Gener for Dormitoryo (Walang Katapusang Kwarto)

Best Actor: Justine Samson for Balangiga: Howling Wilderness

Best Supporting Actor: Pio Del Rio for Balangiga: Howling Wilderness

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