A STUDENT from the University of the Philippines-Los Baños won the Best Short Film award in a film festival organized by the Film Development Council of the Philippines, Commission on Higher Education and UniFAST.

Gerlad Pesigan, a junior undergraduate student at the College of Development Communication, was recognized for his film titled “Lapis Akong Naghihintay ng Pantasa.”

As a finalist, he was given a production grant of P125,000, the UPLB said.

His five-minute short film talks about an out-of-school youth working as a factory worker who was offered an opportunity to better his future.

Pesigan said that the inspiration for his short film came from his experience in senior high school, where they had a program for out-of-school youth to encourage them to go back to school.

Dubbed as “Cineiskool Short Film Lab and Festival,” the competition aims to give voice to individuals benefiting from Free Higher Education and the Tertiary Education Subsidy programs under Republic Act 10931 or the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act.

Pesigan competed against nine other finalists from other schools in the country. Their films premiered at the Gateway Cineplex Cinema 1 in Quezon City last month.