Juan Paulo Reyes Wins Faith Short Film 2011 Film Competition
A Filipino student may follow the footsteps of brilliant director Brillante Mendoza as his film “First Steps to Recovery” won one of the major prizes at the Faith Shorts 2011, a global tilt for short films established by the Tony Blair Faith Foundation (TBFF).
Faith Shorts 2011 Film Competition Winner
Juan Paulo Reyes, 18, took the best film award under the Family category of the Faith Shorts 2011 for his inspiring film and was awarded last December 6, 2011 at the British Academy of Film and Television Arts in London, England. The three minute film First Steps to Recovery is about a life changing interview of a journalist to a boy who has been terminally ill but remained true on his faith. Reyes did mostly all of the film’s production such as writing, directing, and editing the film. Reyes is a Level 2 student from The Puttnam School of Film Lasalle College of the Arts in Singapore, the first school in that country to offer a course in film.
“Let me show you how my faith inspires me” was this year’s theme for the contest. The TBFF website said that the aim of the competition was to nurture the concept of faith on the minds of the young and to change the negative societal concept of faith in today’s modern time where it has been degenerating especially on the youth for them to have a more positive outlook in life.
Former British prime minister and TBFF’s founder, Tony Blair was among one of the judges that include actors Jet Li and Hugh Jackman; Wendi Deng Murdoch, co-CEO of Big Feet Productions; British host June Sarpong; and Nik Powell, UK’s National Film and Television School director.
Other winners of the Faith Shorts 2011 are 14-year-old Amna Aslam of Accrington, North West England for the film “Muhammad in Accrington… Inspiring Me” (Action category), and Nadim Merrikh, 15, from Ontario, Canada was over-all winner for the film “Be The Change You Want to See” (Musical category)
“This new generation holds the potential to help turn the tide against rebellious tensions, building unity to counter those who see faith as a source of division and conflict.” said Blair on a report by the ABS-CBN News
Watch First Steps to Recovery
Category: News