‘Walang Rape SaBontok’ finalist in New York fest’s world's best TV and films competition

MOVIES

Pryce E. Quintos

BAGUIO CITY -- The documentary film about two women in search of a haven free from sexual abuse, “Walang Rape saBontok,” is making international waves.

Gaining momentum from its successful run at the inaugural “Cine Totoo: Philippine International Documentary Film Festival” of GMA News TV, the film by Habi Media Collective (composed of Carla Ocampo and Lester Valle) is among finalists in New York Festival's (NYF) World's Best TV and Films competition for documentaries category.

“Walang Rape Sa Bontok” (international title “Bontok, Rapeless), alongside other Philippine-made documentaries about issues of the country, is up against other documentaries from other countries, namely: Argentina, Australia, Austria, Brazil, Canada, Egypt, France, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Romania, Russia, Russian Federation, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, USA, and Wales.

NYF’s World's Best TV & Films competition honors programming in all lengths and forms from over 50 countries.

Dedicated to television and film industries, categories mirror today's global trends and encourage the next generation of story-tellers and talent: animation, comedy, corporate, drama, documentary, feature films, movie trailers, music videos, news, promos, reality TV drama, sports, telenovelas, webisodes, best performance by an actor/actress, special event, innovation, technical production team, CSR, best screenplay, video art and best host.

The NYF Television & Film Competition is judged by award winning directors, producers, writers, actors and various other creative media professionals from across the globe.

All entries are judged on-line by panels of award-winning industry experts.

This is not the first time “Walang Rape SaBontok” is up for an award.

It bagged one of two special mention awards in the 1st Cine Totoo Philippine International Documentary Festival awards night October last year.

The film revolves around two Filipinas who were victims of sexual abuse.

In their search for a place where women are not sexually violated, they came across a study by  Dr. June Prill-Brett, a renowned anthropologist, which  stated  that native Bontoks  in the Cordillera (Mountain Province) have lived for years without a concept or even a term for rape.