Tinigom dominated the 2024 Sine Negrense: Negros Island Film Festival Inter-School Category with an impressive sweep of accolades, including Best Film, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Cinematography, and Best Editing. Rubin Patulin’s moving portrayal of Joven the parking attendant, earned him Best Actor award, while Hyna Calderon, his on-screen daughter, was recognized with a nomination for Best Supporting Actress. The trailer for Tinigom also won the Audience Impact Award as the Most Engaging Trailer after its release on the festival’s Facebook page last November 10. They were also awarded the Best Musical Score, with the original composition Padayon Lang Ta taking the Best Original Song.
Directed by Keith Nemenzo, an AB Broadcasting student at Foundation University, Tinigom is a solemn portrayal of sacrifice and the struggles of a small family to persevere amidst the economic hardships of contemporary life. It outperformed 11 other entries in the Inter-School Category, including strong contenders from the University of St. La Salle, University of Negros Occidental-Recoletos and Riverside College & State University of Northern Negros. With his Best Director win in the 2024 Film Festival, Nemenzo solidifies his stature as one of the best emerging talents in the Negros Oriental filmmaking scene.
Tinigom’s nominations for Best Sound Design, Best Production Design, and Best Supporting Actress (in Hyna Calderon) gives a nod to the collective talent behind a project of this magnitude. Along with Nemenzo’s vision and the team’s cohesive understanding of the material, the performer’s technical execution ensured the emotional resonance needed by the narrative.
Nemenzo himself is no stranger to the festival circuit. This victory builds upon a trajectory of his early success, with Tinigom representing a maturation of his artistic voice, and the attempt at perfecting his fondness for narrative dramas.
His breakout work, “Pan ug Dugo” already hinted at a talent for capturing poetics in everyday life, premiering in the 2023 Lutas Film Fest in Dumaguete City with positive acclaim including two awards in the 2023 Sine Negrense Film Festival, as well as a nomination for the Best Dayo Award at the 2023 Mindanao Film Festival.
The Sine Negrense: Negros Island Film Festival is an annual celebration of regional voices in filmmaking. Among the notable pieces throughout its run, Tinigom leaves us with a lasting impression on hope and firmness of purpose. Beyond its personal accolades, Tinigom is a recognition of cinema’s capacity to draw audiences in a shared reflection towards the silent struggles that everyday people face.
Catch the trailer that won the Audience Impact Award: Most Engaging Trailer here: bit.ly/4gxztoi