Salesians of Don Bosco

By Allen Keddrick Edrada (Grade 12 high school correspondent  from the Braga Gazette of Don Bosco Technical Institute–Makati)

Makati City, the Philippines, 16 May 2021–In celebration of the 55th World Communications Day (WCD), the FIN Province recognized the winners of the 7th Don Bosco Film Festival (DBFF) Awarding Ceremony. It was held last May 15, 2021, the eve of the annual WCD.

The ceremony celebrated months of tedious preparations, editing, and filming of the different entries of Bosconian-filmmakers amidst the challenges in this time of the new normal.

With the virtual accolade revolving around the 2021 festival theme, it was evident enough that all entries have exhibited Bosconians’ creativity in using the available media and information to create quality outputs and especially communicating God to others through the craft of film–making.

Different from that of previous years where the awarding ceremony was either held in venues of Don Bosco Technical College of Mandaluyong or Don Bosco Technical – Institute of Makati, the momentous event took place through Zoom (where the participants are holed up) and Facebook (for the general public), historically making it the first in the 7 years of the DBFF to be held virtually. This invited a wide range of audiences from the public to watch the ceremony commence and moreover, show support and celebrate alongside the participants and organizers.

FIN Provincial Superior, Fr. Gerry Martin, SDB, jumpstarted the ceremony with his opening remarks highlighting the celebration of the World Communication Sunday. Further explaining how the DBFF works as a means to communicate the message of the gospel of Christ, inspired by our ordinary experiences of Him in our daily lives.

This was then followed by a plenary talk from Mr. Andy Gruete, a representative for Mission Studios of the Missionary Families of Christ.

Referring to the World Communication Sunday, Gruete calls attention to God “as our God of communication” and we as the present generation are fortunate to witness this communication first hand. We see God through the lenses of our cameras to which we have the mission to share this communication to others through the gift of film-making.

Aside from the creative Bosconian film entries, Don Bosco Makati’s Boscorale and Don Bosco Tarlac’s Dream@9 choir added life to the awarding ceremony as they showcased their singing prowess in the patriotic rites and invocation, and intermission number respectively.

The Usapelikula: 7th Don Bosco Film Festival (DBFF) Awarding Ceremony was an overall success. It was evident that every entry, every Bosconian, and Salesian had the initiative of communicating God to others through the gift of film-making. Each one had their unique approach to their craft and this night was especially dedicated to these filmmakers. It wasn’t a competition to begin with, but rather a celebration of these entries that pushed through the despite the. different challenges of this time.

The main highlight of the night is the awarding ceremony. Numerous awards were handed to the nominated entries in the different categories: Music Video, One-minute advertisement, Documentary, and Short Film.

Here are the winners of the Usapelikula: 7th Don Bosco Film Festival (DBFF) Awarding Ceremony: