Meet the filmmakers of the Bacolod Film Festival

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The Bacolod Film Festival will premiere ten short films at SM Bacolod and Ayala Malls Capitol Central cinemas in September.

The recipients of production grants worth 300,000 pesos each from the Bacolod City government are Chelsea Tasic (“A Flower A Day”), Charlene Mead Tupas (“Aninaw”), Juan Carlo Miguel “Jayce” Ferraris (“Blind Date”), Zack Verzosa (“Glub”), Pau Ortaliz Santos (“Laragway sa Karon”), Banjo Hinolan (“Manokan Country”), Willbryan Garcia (“Puli Na, Diche Lesly”), VinJo Entuna (“Sa Pwesto ni Pistong”), Oscar Villanueva (“The Mansion”), and Georgia Elardo (“Those Little Things”).

Chelsea, 20, is a second-year nursing student and filmmaker at the University of St. La Salle in Bacolod City. She started to pursue her passion in filmmaking during her senior high school at the University of Negros Occidental-Recoletos (UNO-R), where she directed two award-winning short films at the UNO-R SHS DigiFest in 2021 and 2022. She also directed “Dalit sa Sala,” which won both People’s Choice award and special citation for its compelling story, at the Sine Negrense: Negros Island Film Festival in 2023.

Meanwhile, Charlene has honed her craft as an alumna of the Maskara Theatre Ensemble and as a member of The Performance Laboratory, Inc. These institutions trained her in community theatre, deepening her understanding of its role in entertainment, education, and advocacy. As an actor, writer, and director, she has contributed to national art festivals, conferences, and collaborative exchanges with theatre groups and artists across the country, guided by theater director Tanya P. Lopez. She garnered national acclaim in 2020 as the grand prize winner of Nespresso Talents for her short film “Tsinelas.”

Jayce is currently pursuing a degree in Bachelor of Arts in Digital Film at Mapua University Makati. He had his directorial debut in the short film “Please Hold…” in 2023. He also directed and produced the short documentary “Bacolod’s Drag Odyssey” this year. In addition, Jayce also edited the Puregold Cinepanalo short film “Saan Ako Pinaglihi?”

Zack recently graduated cum laude with a degree of Bachelor of Arts in Communication at USLS. He joined the Bacolod Summer Workshop screenwriting class in 2022. He wrote and directed “Añoranza” and “Ritmo,” Sine Negrense Open Category finalists in 2023 and 2022, respectively. He also wrote and directed “Instrumentum: Garden of Eden,” which won the Best TV Drama in the Bilib Awards in 2021. He also wrote “Yours Truly” which won Best Picture in the Inasal Awards in 2022 and “Anstal” in 2021.

Pau is a filmmaker with a rich background in screenwriting and video journalism. Starting her career as a screenwriter, she worked on short films such as “Sinta” (2022), “Andromeda” (2021), and “Siete Palabras” (2021). Before venturing into the world of filmmaking, Pau honed her skills as a video journalist for Tolentine Star, the official student publication of UNO-R.

Banjo is a Bacolod-born-and-raised filmmaker with a Mass Communication degree from USLS. His background in theater and film production is complemented by his experience as a director, videographer, and video editor for various cable TV stations in Bacolod City. He is also a part-time instructor at his alma mater. He has participated in and conducted numerous workshops in film production, cinematography, film editing, and directing. His talents have taken him to national and international film productions as both actor and production personnel. He was also mentored by Tanya and the late multi-awarded filmmaker Peque Gallaga.

Willbryan studied Psychology at USLS and is also an alumnus of USLS Maskara Theatre Ensemble like Charlene and Banjo. He has done acting jobs both on stage and on TV. He co-directed the short film “Indi Sya Si Jimmy” which had its premiere at CineKasimanwa: The Western Visayas Film Festival in 2023.

VinJo is a filmmaker from Bacolod City and a graduate of the University of the Philippines Film Institute in 2021. His film training includes attending workshops such as Ricky Lee’s Scriptwriting Workshop in 2020, Inggo Petzke’s Experimental Filmmaking Workshop in 2019, and the Bacollywood Workshops in 2015. His work “Ang Amomonggo sa Aton” won Best Animated Film at both Gawad Alternatibo and Ateneo Video Open (AVO) in 2022. The film also got the Best Student Film award at the SEA x SEA: South East Asia x Seattle Film Festival (2022), first runner-up for Best Animated Film at the second Pinoy Rebyu Awards (2022), Jury’s Choice award at Sine Negrense (2021), Best Screenplay and Far Eastern University Center for the Arts (FCA) Award at SinePiyu, and also the Best Sound Design at AVO in 2022.

Born and raised in Bacolod City, Oscar studied cinematography under the Negros Summer Workshops and sound design under the Bacollywood Summer Workshops. Oscar’s love for screenwriting led him to becoming a filmmaker, which materialized when his script was selected in the Bacolod Film Festival.

Georgia is a filmmaker, digital media artist, and a graduate of La Consolacion College Bacolod. Her short film “Si Tinay Kag Ang Tamawo” was part of the 2019 Ngilngig Asian Fantastic Film Festival in Davao.

Catch the BFF filmmakers and their films in Bacolod cinemas this September.