SHAINA Magdayao is announced to be part of the jury for the Uncaged Awards for Best Feature Film Competition in the upcoming 23rd New York Asian Film Festival (NYAFF.)
In a press release published on June 18, 2024, Magdayao’s name was announced alongside other respectable and prominent upcoming figures in the film industry, representing Asia and the United States.
The jury for the Uncaged Awards consists of a diverse set of people in the film industry. Namely, Magdayao, actress in the Essential Truths of the Lake; Tony Bui, director of Three Seasons; Shao-yi Chen, producer for Screenworks Asia; Felix Tsang, Sales and Acquisitions Manager of the Golden Scene; Nonkul Chanon Santinatornkul, actor from Bad Genius; and Aliza Ma, the head of programming for the Criterion Channel.
“Essential Truths of the Lake” is a 2023 film starring Shaina Magdayao alongside John Lloyd Cruz and Hazel Orencio. It tells the story of a lieutenant, Hermes Papauran, striving to solve a 15-year-old case of volcanic ash-laden landscape and an impenetrable lake at a time of President Rodrigo Duterte’s regime of bloody murders and brazen lies.
Magdayao has also attended multiple reputable film festivals in the past year such as Locarno Film Festival and Busan Film Fest in 2023 and recently attended the 2024 Cannes Film Festival with their film “Walay Balay” featured in the Cannes Directors’ Fortnight.
The Uncaged Awards
The Uncaged Awards gives international recognition to films and their directors who have expanded outside of film norms and give a new perspective on the passion, creativity, and grit of filmmakers. According to their press release, “These are the filmmakers to watch, the ones who are bending and rewriting the rules and creating something new and exciting.”
This section from the list of different categories has eight nominees from directors who have one to two movies under their roster or have not yet been recognized in the scene of international film awards.
Films nominated for the Uncaged Awards are China and Wang Yichun’s “The Escaping Man,” South Korea and Choi Jea-young’s ”Frankenstein’s Father,” Thailand and Pat Boonnitipat’s “How to Make Millions Before Grandma Dies,” Malaysia/Taiwan/Singapore and Chong Keat Aun’s “Snow in Midsummer,” Taiwan and Liao Ming-yi’s “Suffocating Love,” Taiwan and Chin Chia-Hua’s “Trouble Girl,” and Indonesia and Jeremias Nyangoen’s “Women from Rote Island.”
The NYAFF will present 94 films from Asia with nine world premieres, 12 international premieres, and 38 North American premieres, as stated in their press release.
The festival will span from July 12 to 28 and will be held at Film at Lincoln Center (FLC) from July 12 to 22, at the VA Theatre from July 22 to 28, LOOK Cinemas W57 for special weekend screenings and one-night-only programming for July 13 to 15, 18 to 21, and 23 to 25, and at the Korean Cultural Center New York for July 13 to 27.
With reports from Catherine Jules C. Juvida
