A short Pinoy-made film featuring actor Jericho Rosales was nominated for best international drama at the 10th annual awards of NewFilmmakers Los Angeles (NFMLA).
Reports note that “Basurero,” a short film by Eileen Cabiling, is one of the ten nominees under the International Drama category.
Jericho, its lead cast member, also received a best actor nomination under the Performance Drama category. He will compete with nine other artists.
“Basurero” tells the story of a fisherman working in an urban fishing village on the outskirts of Manila who dumps bodies in the ocean for the Philippine drug war’s faceless vigilantes in exchange for cash.
Tension arises when the killings hit close to home after he discovers his neighbor has been murdered for selling crystal meth or “shabu.”
Jericho shared the news on his Instagram, where his post has gained over 34,400 likes as of this writing.
“Our short film BASURERO gets nominated for BEST INTERNATIONAL DRAMA and Kulot gets a BEST ACTOR nomination at the NFMLA 2022 in Los Angeles! List of nominees and jurors on Variety article up in my bio!” he wrote, referencing a nickname for himself based on his curly hair.
“This little jeepney made it to Hollywood! (zany face emoji) Cheers team!” Jericho added.
According to Jericho, his character in the short film was based on a real person.
“My character was based on a real person. I was more interested in the daily moment-to-moment decisions that he had to make for himself and for his family,” he said to ABS-CBN in 2020.
Meanwhile, Cabiling is a US-born filmmaker who is born to a Filipino immigrant family on the stateside. NFMLA said that she has a vision to tell stories about the Filipino diaspora.
She is a graduate of the American Film Institute and a recipient of the Women in Film Scholarship, the ABC/WALT Disney Talent Grant, and the William J. Fadiman Award for Best AFI Screenplay.
The NFMLA is a Hollywood-based non-profit organization that provides a forum where filmmakers can be recognized for their contributions, have open audience discussions about their projects, and connect with industry professionals for insight on distribution, production, acquisition and representation.
It showcases innovative works by emerging filmmakers around the world by holding monthly screening events and annual awards programs.