The recognition of Miss Intrams at the Puregold CinePanalo Film Festival has strengthened filmmaker Henri Marie Belimac’s call for greater support for regional cinema, particularly stories from Mindanao.
The 22-year-old University of the Philippines-Mindanao graduate hopes the film’s success will inspire more Mindanawon filmmakers to join national competitions and encourage institutions to invest in regional storytelling.
“I hope next year there will be no ‘only (Mindanawon) entry.’ Instead, it will be ‘one of many,’” Belimac said in her acceptance speech.
Miss Intrams won two awards: the Puregold Always Panalo Award, also known as Puregold’s Choice, and Panalo sa Musical Scoring. It also received eight nominations, including Best Film, Special Jury Prize, Best Director and Best Screenplay for Belimac, Best Production Design for Summer Tabucon, Best Actress for Mariella Cuerpo, and Best Supporting Actress for Mika Hamajo and Diana Palma.
Regional Stories That Resonate
According to UP Mindanao’s social media page, Miss Intrams follows Zyan, a transmasculine queer student who enters a campus pageant while navigating identity, self-expression, and societal expectations. Inspired by Belimac’s personal story, the coming-of-age film explores campus life, and the journey toward self-acceptance.
Belimac said the film’s reception showed that regional and queer stories could reach audiences beyond their communities.
“People want to hear our stories, and that distance and language barriers prove nothing when it is the personal and the heart that speaks,” she said.
However, the team’s festival experience also highlighted the challenges faced by independent regional filmmakers. Belimac described their participation as a form of protest, saying they competed without the local government support they had sought. Much of their grant went to airfare and transportation, while other productions had established industry connections and government sponsorships.
She called on government officials to translate their recognition of regional arts into concrete support.
Developing SOCCSKSARGEN’s Creative Talent
Belimac plans to continue developing scripts and exploring initiatives to nurture creative talent across SOCCSKSARGEN, or SOX.
“There is so much untapped talent in SOX, sa totoo lang,” she said, citing aspiring writers in Tantangan and students she met during a bibliotherapy session in Glan following the magnitude 7.8 earthquake and its aftershocks in June.
She is considering film and writing workshops, screenings, and collaborations with producers on short films and documentaries highlighting the region’s culture and identity.
For Belimac, the goal is to make Mindanawon films a regular presence in national competitions rather than an exception.
