Itbayat Feature Wins Best Docu At .MOV  

Raya Martin's "Ang Isla sa Dulo ng Mundo" (The Island at the End of the World/No Pongso do Tedted no Mondo) won Best Documentary at the 2nd .MOV International Digital Film Festival awards night held at SM City Cebu last March 7.

"Isla," a 109-minute documentary in digital video format, focuses on Itbayat, the last inhabited island in the Batanes group of islands in the northernmost territory of the Philippines . Itbayat Island opens itself to visitors during the summer but shuts off for an almost year-long havoc of storms. Other than its tourist charm, nothing more is known about the place or its people.

The Itbayat documentary bested five other entries, namely "The Ister" ( Australia ), "Surplus" ( Sweden ), "Romeo Must Rock" (Philippines ), "The Big Durian" ( Malaysia ) and "Time and the River" ( USA ). Clermont-Ferrand festival director Roger Gonin chaired the jury for the selection of the best documentary with internationally acclaimed filmmaker Lav Diaz and writer Seymour Barros Sanchez as members. "The appeal of Itbayat comes from the fact that most city dwellers have, ironically, an outdated impression of the islanders and their culture. My drive to seek truths revolves around wanting to understand, more than traditions and practices, a community seemingly isolated from the mainland. The surface characters of the island and its settlers tell both new and familiar stories," Martin explained. "The Island at the End of the World' hopes to share that what makes us Filipinos and the world citizens, although seemingly divergent, is one and the same," the young filmmaker added.

Martin, a senior film major at the UP Film Institute, is a participant to the Berlinale Talent Campus of the 55th Berlin Film Festival last month. He previously won the Ishmael Bernal Award for Young Cinema at the 6th Makati Cinemanila International Film Festival as director of the short film "Bakasyon" last year. "Isla" had its premiere screening at the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) Tanghalang Manuel Conde (Dream Theater) last February 24.