31/12/2024
HAPPY NEW YEAR! 2024 has been a remarkable year for Southern Lantern Studios. We proudly premiered three full-length films and three short films in the Philippines, marking significant milestones in our journey as a production company.
Sheron Dayoc's THE GOSPEL OF THE BEAST, which had its world premiere at the main competition section of the Tokyo International Film Festival last year, won Best Film at the inaugural Ho Chi Minh City International Film Festival. It was later selected as the opening film of the 20th Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival and received two awards at this year’s Gawad Urian: Best Supporting Actor for Ronnie Lazaro and Best Editing for Lawrence Ang.
As a studio primarily composed of filmmakers from the regions, Southern Lantern Studios takes immense pride in supporting emerging talents outside of Metro Manila. This year, we produced two films by debuting filmmakers from Western Visayas for Cinemalaya: TUMANDOK and LOVE CHILD.
TUMANDOK by Richard Salvadico and Kat Sumagaysay-Salvadico, which won five major awards, including Best Film. This marks our third Best Film award, following JOHN DENVER TRENDING and HALAW;
LOVE CHILD by Jonathan Jurilla marked our first collaboration with a major studio, Regal Entertainment, and our first theatrical release. It will also be our first film to premiere on Netflix, launching on January 2, 2025.
Sonny Calvento’s PRIMETIME MOTHER, which had a spectacular premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival last year, had its Philippine premiere at the 20th Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival this year, where it won the Audience Award and Best Screenplay. The film also continued its international festival journey, being showcased at the Palm Springs Shortfest, Short Shorts, Aspen Shortfest, and Seattle International Film Festival.
Kyd Torato’s BISAN ABO, WALA BILIN, winner of the first Indiegenius Project Lab by iAcademy and Netflix, premiered and won Second Best Film at the returning Sinag Maynila Film Festival. It then traveled to two international festivals: the Jogja Netpac Asian Film Festival in Indonesia and the Blue Chair Film Festival in Laos.
Bridget Ng-Ting’s ONE DAY, THREE AUTUMNS premiered at this year’s CCP Gawad Alternatibo, where it won an Honorable Mention. The film also made its way to international festivals, including the San Antonio Film Festival, New Order Youth International Film Festival, and Spicy Indie International Film Festival.
After premiering at last year’s Sine Kabataan, Anya and Dominic Zulueta’s ALL THE TIME was selected and won third place at the CCP Gawad Alternatibo. It was also featured at the San Diego Asian Film Festival and Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival.
In an effort to increase access to Filipino films, we launched our YouTube channel, where you can find some of our past films.
WHAT'S IN STORE FOR SLS IN 2025? We are expanding our reach from the regions to the international scene, developing projects aimed at broader audiences across diverse genres.
We are thrilled to have begun the journey of Sonny Calvento’s next film, MOTHER MAYBE, which won the top prize at the QCinema Project Market. It was also selected by the Festival Du Nouveau Cinéma’s Nouveau Marché in Montreal, Canada, and the Red Sea Film Festival’s Red Sea Souk in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Production is set to begin by the end of 2025.
Additionally, we have several exciting projects in development that we can’t fully disclose just yet: Stray Cats, Boytoy(formerly The Silence and Stealth of a Hungry Cat), Red Shadows of the Red Mountains, Two Mothers, Clementine, a charming "Time Machine" project, and an international co-production with an award-winning Vietnamese filmmaker.
Though Southern Lantern Studios is still a fledgling production company, we are steadily growing, and we look forward to growing alongside you as we broaden our reach in 2025, showcasing talent and stories from the regions—and beyond!
Thank you for celebrating our wins with us in 2024. See you next year!
