Pan de Salawal wins Best Film in Calella Film Festival

by Elton Gagni / October 13, 2020

Filipino pride conquers the world stage yet again as local film Pan de Salawal bags top prizes at the prestigious Calella Film Festival 2020.

Pan de Salawal (The Sweet Taste of Salted Bread and Undies) is about a homeless girl named Aguy, portrayed by child star Miel Espinoza, who travels around the Philippines, curing the afflicted with her mysterious healing powers. One day, she befriends sick old man Sal, played by Bodjie Pascua, whom she is unable to cure with her powers. The unlikely pair are drawn to each other as both of their lives are forever changed by their friendship and magical journey.

Calella Film Festival is a non-profit organization in the Spanish City of Calella that aims to disseminate and promote cinema, with special emphasis on training the new generations in film culture as well as technical and creative knowledge, so that they can carry out film projects in the future for their own means.

Pan de Salawal competed in the Low Budget category for films that have less than 500,000 euros (roughly over Php 28 million) in production budget. Besting six foreign entries in the category, the locally-acclaimed film was awarded Best Low Budget Film and Best Screenplay, making it the Festival’s biggest winner.

Now an internationally-acclaimed film, Pan de Salawal started out as an entry to the 14th Cinemalaya Film Festival in 2018 where writer-director Che Espiritu made her directorial debut. Earning praise from festival viewers and critics, the film bagged several awards including Best Original Score, Special Prize Jury for Acting for Espinoza, and Best Director and Special Jury Prize for Espiritu herself.

Another win for the country from the Spanish Festival was from Filipino Director Maria Diane Ventura who won Best Direction for her film Deine Farbe.

Starring German actors Jannik Schümann and Nyamandi Adrian, Deine Farbe tells the story of small-town friends Karl (Schümann) and Albert (Adrian), whose attempts to bolt from their humdrum existence in search of greater things reveal differences deeper than what is readily apparent.

Ventura and her film are also set to compete in other international festivals such as Cardiff International Film Festival (UK), L’Hospitalet De Llobregat (Spain), the Lonely Wolf Film Festival and Gold Movie Awards (London), the Diorama International Film Festival (India), and the Geelong Underground Film Festival (Australia).

While the Philippines continues to be embattled by the pandemic, Pinoy Pride certainly intensifies whenever a Filipino soul takes the international limelight. Truly, there is no brighter spot for Filipino films and filmmakers to shine but the global stage.

To view the other foreign film selections and the 2019 winners of the Calella Film Festival, visit this link.

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