Apart from community immersion, catechesis, and liturgies, the youth participants of the World Youth Day in Panama also had a chance to relax and watch a movie. On Wednesday, January 23, The Iñigo Film Festival was held at the Teatro Municipal in downtown Panama City. On board to run the festival were representatives from Jesuit Communications – Asia Pacific (JesCom-AP): Fr Van Yen Nguyen SJ (Vietnam), Fr Emilio Zanetti SJ (China) and myself (Philippines).
Started in 2005 in Germany by European Jesuits, The Iñigo Film Festival (TIFF) was intended to be a side-event in the Pope’s highly attended World Youth Day events. After Cologne, Germany, the festival travelled to Sydney in 2008, Madrid in 2011, Rio de Janeiro in 2013, Krakow in 2016, and in Panama early this year.
The contest is open to amateur filmmakers and regularly attracts 60 to 80 participants from all over the globe. Trophies and cash prizes are given to the winners. This year the first prize was given to Japan (Repeat After Me by Yu Shibuya), the second prize to France (Deux Mains by Michael Barocas), and the third prize went to Peru (Conversacion by Cristian Garcia). Special Prizes were also given to an emerging filmmaker (Augusto Castillo for El Caminante Mayor) and to the best in humour (Michele Bellio for Crisi Mistica).
All these were shown to the World Youth Day participants, providing them not only with entertainment, but hopefully, with inspiration as well.
Fr Nono Alfonso SJ is the Executive Director of Jesuit Communications Philippines and JCAP Coordinator for Social Communications.