The De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde Film Program made an impressive showing at the 22nd Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival, with a faculty member and an alumnus both taking home the Network for the Promotion of Asian Cinema awards.
The accolades highlight the institution’s ongoing impact on Philippine cinema across both short and full-length films.
Benilde Film faculty member, cultural worker, and independent filmmaker Lot-Lot Hermosura received the NETPAC Award in the Cinemalaya short film category for her 19-minute documentary “The River Flows in Different Places.”
The documentary focuses on the aftermath of the October 7 war, following the displacement of millions of Palestinians. The film highlights Net and Maha, two Filipino-Palestinian mothers forced to leave Gaza with their families, who share their repatriation journey to the Philippines, a place they view as both foreign and familiar.
Constructed like a family diary, the piece weaves together intimate interviews, personal photographs, home videos, and illustrations. Through these media, Hermosura examines themes of cultural duality, the continuous search for belonging, and memory as a form of resistance.
The film is produced by Yani Ali with the University of the Philippines-Diliman as executive producer.
Meanwhile, in the Cinemalaya full-length feature category, Benilde Film alumnus Vahn Leinard C. Pascual earned the NETPAC Award for his debut feature film, “Status: Rejected.”
The narrative focuses on Virginia “Biring” Divinagracia (Ruby Ruiz), a 69-year-old widow who has dedicated her life to raising her daughter and granddaughter in a home where she feels increasingly detached.
After receiving her fourth U.S. visa rejection, her hope of reuniting with her son begins to fade. Seeking connection, Biring enters the digital world through a friend’s encouragement and meets an American stranger named Steve. As her online relationship grows, the story examines the fine line between genuine hope and delusion in her pursuit of love, visibility, and a new life abroad.
The film also stars Alessandra de Rossi, Beverly Salviejo, and Yani Villarosa.
The dual NETPAC victories reflect a significant mark for the DLS-CSB Film Program, demonstrating the community’s capacity to engage with both local narrative dynamics and broader international human rights topics.
Both filmmakers plan to continue screening their respective projects through local and international festival circuits to bring these stories of displacement, connection, and identity to wider audiences.
Seymour B. Sanchez
Seymour Barros Sanchez is an advocacy filmmaker, communication and film lecturer, freelance writer, creative producer, technical consultant, and a former producer for news and current affairs programs. He served as Bacolod Film Festival director in 2024 and Technical Consultant for Academic Linkages of the Film Development Council of the Philippines from 2022 to 2025. He is a member of the Academic Film Society Advisory Committee of the FDCP, a representative of the Education Sector to the National Committee on Cinema Executive Council, and Secretary of the NCC.
