A FILM created by students of the Alaminos City National High School in Pangasinan won the Best International Documentary Film prize in the 2021 Ireland’s Young Filmmaker of the Year Awards.

Grade 11 student Mark Giddel Liwanag directed the film entitled “Sa Layag ng Bangkang Paurong” which tackles the plight of young students who work as boatmen in the province’s tourist destination Hundred Islands.

According to the Film Development Council of the Philippines, the documentary is a product of the Commission on Population and Development’s 4th Adolescent Health and Development Film Festival in 2019.

Dr. Raquel Rarang-Rivera, who mentored the students, said they wanted to produce a film about the culture and arts in the province.

“Na-inspire kami sa paggawa ng nasabing pelikula dahil ito ay tumutukoy sa mga estudyante na nagtratrabaho bilang bangkero na naghahatid sa mga turista na nagtutungo sa Hundred Islands. Ang mga kabataang ito ay nagtratrabaho sa murang edad para masuportahan ang pag-aaral at matulungan ang kanilang mga pamilya,” she said.

Craig Jacob Garin, the film’s editor, said that their intention was to simply tell the story of what is happening in their surroundings and they did not expect to win.

On the other hand, Hanna Ragudos, the film’s assistant director, expressed hope that their documentary will also be included in other international film festivals.

Since its production in 2019, the documentary has been part of the official selections of various international film festivals in the United States, Turkey, Indonesia, Germany and Ukraine.

It also won Best Advocacy Statement and Best Documentary Film in the Streets to Schools National Film Competition of the Association of the Rights of Children in Southeast Asia last March 21.

Founded in 1977, the Fresh International Film Festival invites young people from Ireland and overseas, aged 7 to 18, to create, exhibit, and share films.