Short about late street-kid-turned-rapper wins 1st Dilaab Film Fest

The Parañaque City-based filmmaker's short "Plastic Dreamz," which dramatizes the life of the late Cebuano rapper Aldie Codezar, won Best Short Film, Best Director, Best Screenplay, and Best Editing at the inaugural "Dilaab Film Festival: Sining sa Kasingkasing" on Sunday, October 5, at the Cube Wing Atrium of SM Seaside City.

- By JANUAR JUNIOR AGUJA

Apart from trophies, she also brings home a load of prizes, including cash, gift certificates, and an overnight stay for two at Bai Hotel Cebu. She arrived in Cebu at the last minute to attend the festival thanks to a sponsor

"This is my best birthday ever," she told The FREEMAN. "However, I feel conflicted because I am spending this win alone physically. But I know my friends are part of this victory. I wouldn't have made this short without them."

De Leon, 23, wasn't a passionate cinephile when she first enrolled in her course at Far Eastern University, seeing it as a way to expand her creativity. "I ended up enjoying it. I can now say I am passionate about filmmaking," she said.

She cited her favorite film, "Gusto Kita with All My Hypothalamus" by Dwein Baltazar, as the kind of work she hopes to create. "It shows a great depiction of the human psyche and how we love," she explained.

De Leon joined the Dilaab Foundation Inc.'s first film festival after seeing a call for entries on Facebook. Having graduated just a few months ago, she saw it as an opportunity to create her first post-college film.

As part of the Dilaab Foundation Inc.'s 25th anniversary, organizers thought of holding a film festival highlighting people associated with the foundation.

"We love stories. But it can be difficult to read about someone's hardships. When watching them in film, and if the filmmaker is good, you'll stay until the end," said Victoria Ortega, one of the foundation's board directors and a festival jury member.