Myra Angeline Soriaso, a 3rd year Bachelor of Arts in Communication and Media Studies from UP Visayas, qualified as one of the six grantees of the 2023 QCShorts Festival. She snatched a spot for her entry, A Catholic School Girl, from among 195 entries nationwide.
Sorioso will receive a Short Film Production Grant of Php 350,000.00. The final output of the film will be shown on its world premiere during the QC Independent Film Festival 2023.
The film delves into the sexual awakening of a teenage girl in a Catholic school. The script was developed under the CMS 174 Scriptwriting class of the Division of Humanities, College of Arts and Sciences, UP Visayas.
Another script by student Carlos Dala from the same course also made it to the top 15 last year.
Soriaso already made a mark in 2021 when her first documentary short film PANAMBI, which she made with her best friends, was selected at the prestigious Ji.hlava International Documentary Film Festival (IDFF) in Jihlava, Czech Republic, in 2022.
A Catholic School Girl will be Soriaso's first narrative short film. Last year, the same project also won at the Globe Studios/Anima GoWatch Film Lab Grant. She was awarded PhP 200,000 for it.
In preparation for the production, Soriaso will be mentored by filmmakers Antoinette Jadaone, Martika Ramirez Escobar, Arden Rod Condez, Sonny Calvento, and Sheron Dayoc.
Established producer Tin Velasco will take charge of the production. The grant from QCinema was from the people's money through the government of Quezon City. In recent years, their PhP 350,000 grant produced short films that made it to reputable international film festivals like the Berlin International Film Festival, Sundance Film Festival, and Locarno Film Festival, among others.
