DLSU-D Marketing Communications Office
A De La Salle University – Dasmariñas (DLSU-D) student’s film was among the quarter-finalists for Best Short Film at the 2023 Student World Impact Film Festival (SWIFF).
The film “Sana Nasa Sana” (The Hope within What Ifs) emerged as one of the top films among 13,868 submissions from 120 countries worldwide. The film was also screened in select locations in Asia on June 20.
In an interview with PressOne.PH, student-director Erika Reyes said she entered the short film with “no expectations” because it was an international competition.
“Ang goal ko lang naman is i-showcase [‘yung short film] somewhere na feeling ko magkakaroon ng voice ‘yung kwento,” Reyes said.
(My only goal is to showcase the short film somewhere where it can have a voice.)
Her short film tells the story of an idealist painter as she shares a heartwarming conversation with her dad during her birthday, which leads her into a recollection.
Reyes said this was her way of connecting with other people who are grieving the loss of a loved one, the same experience she had when she lost her father in 2021.
“Akala ko ako lang ‘yung nakaka–experience ng ganu’n, pero marami palang taong [nakaranas] din. Naka-connect ako sa ibang tao in the art form na meron ako, na pwede palang maka-affect ‘yung kwento ko sa kwento ng iba,” she explained.
(I thought I was the only one who experienced that kind of loss of a loved one, but I was wrong because many people went through it as well. I was able to connect with them in the art form I have. I realized that my story can also affect the stories of others.)
“Sana Nasa Sana” was also part of the official selection for the 2023 Student Cuts Film Festival and a nominee for Best Film and Best Cinematography at the 3 Shots Film Fest in 2022.
Reyes’s film is one of the finalists in the Short Feature category of the 35th Gawad CCP Para sa Alternatibong Pelikula at Video, considered the longest-running independent film competition in the Asean region.
“Sana Nasa Sana,” along with other finalists, will be available for viewing from Aug. 4 to 13 at the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) in Pasay City, Manila. Xander Cipriano