Sometimes, pursuing filmmaking and succeeding at it can be done by sheer passion.
Arvin Belarmino, the winner of this year’s Cinemalaya Best Screenplay award, has proven just that. He did not complete film school—he is an IT graduate, but this did not stop him from exploring the intricacies of moviemaking and sharing his own narratives that resonate with audiences.
” I believe the primary reason I started making my own films was my immense love for movies. I immersed myself in countless films, and that’s what motivated me to embark on my own filmmaking journey,” he expressed.
To aspiring filmmakers, he offered a golden piece of advice: cultivate a deep love for cinema, immerse yourselves in a plethora of films, and absorb the learnings they offer.
Another luminary in the industry and the director of Cinemalaya’s Best Film “Iti Mapupukaw,” Carl Joseph Papa also fully embraced his passion for filmmaking and animation despite a degree in Computer Science and a day job as a software engineer.
For him, honing storytelling abilities is crucial for every aspiring filmmaker because amidst all the flashy technology, “the story still reigns supreme” and remains the heart of every great movie, he said.
But he still cheered on aspiring filmmakers to tap into the wealth of information and technology available today to help them bring to life their cinematic dreams, just like he did.
