MANILA, September 17, 2013 – Cinemalaya 2013 Best Picture winner Transit will be the Philippines’ entry to the foreign-language category at the 86th Academy Awards, besting other local films on the shortlist, including the wildly popular On the Job.
The film was selected by a special committee from the Film Academy of the Philippines (FAP), chaired by director Peque Gallaga.
Transit was directed by Hannah Espia, and debuted at the Cinemalaya Film Festival earlier this year, where it competed in the New Breed category and won the Audience Choice Award, Best Original Score, Best Editing, Best Cinematography, Best Supporting Actress, Best Actress, Special Jury Prize for Ensemble Acting, and NETPAC award in addition to its Best Film citation.
The film is a drama about a Filipino family living in Israel, and stars Irma Adlawan, Jasmine Curtis Smith, Ping Medina, Mercedes Cabral, and Marc Justine Alvarez.
Other films that were considered for the Oscars bid were Erik Matti’s On the Job and Tiktik: The Aswang Chronicles, Brillante Mendoza’s Thy Womb, Richard Somes’ Supremo, Mark Meily’s El Presidente, Jeffrey Jeturian’s Ekstra, Veronica Velasco’s Tuhog, and Ellen Ongkeko-Marfil’s Boses.
