Jurilla’s Tiempo Suerte dominates 2021 SineNegrense NIFF

The short film, Tiempo Suerte, took home eight awards out of the 13 in the Open Category of the recently concluded SineNegrense: Negros Island Film Festival.

The awarding ceremony was held last Nov 28, 2021 via Facebook live due to the Covid-19 pandemic restrictions.

The awards were Best Picture, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actress, Best Supporting Actor, Best Editing, and People’s Choice award.

The Best Director, Best Screenplay, and Best Editing awards all went to Jonathan Jurilla, who wrote, directed, and edited the film.

Jezailah Adriel Koch was awarded Best Actress, Alisandra Delicano was Best Supporting Actress, while Andriane Cedric Egnal got the Best Supporting Actor award. All three have never acted in a film before.

The film was also nominated for Best Cinematography, Best Production Design, Best Musical Score, and Best Sound Design.

There were nine short films competing in the open category, while there were six in the intercollegiate category.

Jonathan Jurilla is Associate Professor at the Division of Humanities, College of Arts and Sciences, University of the Philippines Visayas.

SineNegrense is an annual film festival held in Negros Occidental to recognize the new generation of filmmakers. It also aims to cultivate an informed public on the importance of Cinema and Storytelling in the context of National Identity, Culture, and Heritage.

SineNegrense is realized through the efforts of the Province of Negros Occidental, the Negros Cultural Foundation, the Negros Museum, the National Commission for Culture and the Arts, the Film Development Council of the Philippines, and DNX News.

Tiempo Suerte is a 19-minute short film about a young girl who wishes to follow in the footsteps of her older brother, and that is, to quit school and work in a sugarcane plantation.

The same short film is adapted from a storybook for children entitled Si Manong kag ang Iya Higante nga Tarak-tarak, written by Orland Solis.

Orland Solis is a 4th year BA-Literature major at the Division of Humanities, College of Arts and Sciences, University of the Philippines-Visayas.

His storybook is published by ABC+ Learning Connects Project, DepEd Philippines, and USAID Philippines.