MEET THE SPEAKERS
Dir. Dempster Samarista
Award winning film director, sound engineer, producer, and documentary filmmaker
His works competed internationally in the US, Europe, Middle East, and South-East Asia. He won multiple awards in 2011 and 2013 at the URIAN Awards, the 2013 and 2016 Cinemaone Original Film Festival, and 2013 PMPC Star Awards.
Currently, he is continuing his research on the culture and spirituality of the Sulu archipelago and mainland Mindanao, spirituality and healing in the rest of the Philippine Islands.
Prof. Banaue Miclat-Janssen
Award-winning Filipino Film, Theater actress, and singer since 1992
She had several nominations from various award-giving bodies in the Philippines and around the world including two Aliw Awards for Best Performance for a New Concept Production and a Best Actress Award for the Metropolitan Opera, among others.
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Aside from teaching ARTS1 at the university of the Philippines Open University (UPOU), she is also a tenured full-time faculty at UP Diliman’s Department of Speech Communication and Theatre Arts.
Prof. Jose V. Ogatis
Assistant Professor of Philippine Arts & Communication, Literature, Pop Culture, and Philippine Cinema and founder of The Usual Suspects Movie Mafia
He is a graduate of BA English Studies: Creative Writing and MA Filipino: Malikhaing Pagsulat from UP Diliman. He likes to write reviews on all sorts of cultural artifacts in his YouTube channel: Tambay Reviews. Currently, he is the Culture and Arts Coordinator of the College of Arts & Science of UP Manila.
Prof. Dennis Aguinaldo
Professor and Writer
He teaches literature and art courses at the University of the Philippines Los Baños. His poetry, prose, and fiction have been published in various print and online media in both local and international scene. His works have also landed entry in journals and anthologies. He also received the 2021 Outstanding Artist award during the UPLB’s 112th Foundation Day.
MEET THE JURORS
Dir. Luisa Gelisan
Director of UPOU MC
Ms. Gelisan has a Bachelor of Science degree in Development Communication from UPLB, where she is currently taking her PhD. Her Master of Development Communication was from UPOU. She also served as course coordinator for the Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) on Child Rights and Protection and as a course tutor under the Master of Development Communication program. (ACLlamas)
Prof. Marc J. San Valentin
Associate Professor, Chairperson of Department of Visual Communicarion of the College of Fine Arts in UP Diliman
He is an Associate Professor and the Chairperson of the Department of Visual Communication of the College of Fine Arts in UP Diliman. He is also the FIC of the Art Studies 141 course in UPOU. He is a visual artist focusing on photography and its role in society. His photographic practice ranges from silver and non-silver based photographic printing methods (late 19th and early 20th century) to projection mapping.
Jaime P O. Guimbao
AA Alumni, Former Festival Director of Sinening Sining Sine (SY.2020-2021)
He is an alumnus of UPOU's AA program. As a UPOU student, he has been elected as the Festival Director of the inaugural Sineng Sining Sine Festival held on September 2021. He also served as the host and moderator of several webinars and workshops organized by the AA Program Chair. These workshops include podcasting, art illustration, website creation, and creative writing, among others.
During his stay at UPOU, he worked as a Student Assistant for the Office of Public Affairs, where he had the opportunity to write news and feature articles. These articles were published in UPOU websites and social media pages.
He was also part of the Steering Committee in several virtual forums and gatherings organized for the AA community. Foremost among them are the AAProgram Orientation, Digital Fiesta, and Digital Humanities Forum.
Ryan Cajilig
AA Alumni, Former Film 10 Student
He recently completed an Associate in Arts, and currently taking Bachelor in Education Studies at UPOU. A big fan of arts, his go-to places are indie cinemas in Maginhawa (pre-pandemic), museums, or theaters.
Arlene Mendiola-Acol
AA Student, Former Film 10 Student
Currently a second year student under the Associate in Arts Program of UPOU. Undergraduate of BA Film and Audio Visual Communication in the College of Mass Communication in UP-Diliman. Worked as a producer in the local advertising industry. Currently working as an online English tutor to Japanese students and as a marketing campaign manager. Dedicated to her passion for the arts and humanities, Arlene would like to pursue a career in education, focusing on promoting Filipino cultural heritage.
Alphonse Tanoy
AA Student, Former Film 10 Student
He is an AA student who took FILM 10 in his third trimester. He was a member of GROUP I and also part of the cast in their film "MisogyNatoy" which they produced for the first Sineng Sineng Sine festival in FILM 10
Honey Libertine Achanzar-Labor
Professor and Program Coordinator, Department of Arts and Communication, University of the Philippines-Manila (UPM)
Dr. Honey Libertine Achanzar-Labor is Professor 5 at the University of the Philippines Manila, and Program Coordinator of the BA Philippine Arts – Cultural Heritage and Arts Management Program. She received her BA Humanities (Pre-Medicine) degree from the University of the Philippines Diliman and has a doctorate in Philippine Studies from the Asian Center in UP Diliman. She is a UP Centennial and One UP Professorial Chair Awardee and is a regular member of UP Manila’s Research Ethics Board. She was named University Artist by the UP system under the lens of its Arts Productivity Program, acknowledging her contribution in creative research, publication, and promotion of cultural heritage. Her most recent publications include a chapter in Religious Tourism in Asia: Tradition and Change Through Case Studies (Oxford: CABI, 2018) and an article “The Ibaloi of Benguet as Active Agents in Health Negotiations” in the Philippine Journal of Health Research and Development (2018).
