More than an exhibit to showcase the best-produced works of the College’s Animation students, Benilde Animation Festival 2015 (BAF 2015) expanded its lineup of activities to include lecture series, alumni talks, a cosplay competition and an art jam.
BAF 2015 recognized twenty-one of the most outstanding thesis films of the year, with Manag winning the Best Animation, Best Story and Overall Champion. Created by Vince Serrano, Manang tells the story of a boy trying to escape from a mananaggal.
For Aniplay 2015, the Festival’s cosplay competition, Rb Cheng stood out and won the Best Cosplay of the Year as Deathsaurer, a dinosaur-type of Zoid modelled after Godzilla and an antagonist of the Zoids series.
One of the highlights of BAF 2015 was the Art Jam which allowed students, faculty members and creative professionals to learn from one another by illustrating their great ideas and potential story arcs or characters. With musical accompaniment by ABANI’s own band Karilyo, the event acted as a tranquil moment for artists inspiring them to express their art through different forms of illustration.
Meanwhile, the Building Blocks Talks, BAF’s series of lectures, provided the opportunity for students to learn from successful animators and recognized personalities from the creative industry. Among the speakers were Kerby Rosanes and Grace Dimaranan of Top Peg Animation Studio. Popularly known by the name Sketchy Stories, Rosanes shared his humble beginnings as an illustrator and his journey to becoming a designer for Nike. Dimaranan, on the other hand, addressed the production and marketing aspects of animation—how to budget for a project and stick to production timelines.
“The Benilde Animation Festival is our program’s way of showing to the Benildean Community what we can do as creators and collaborators,” shared Animation faculty member and event assistant Loren Kara Leonardia. “More importantly, BAF is a learning experience for Benildeans. We bring in industry professionals and encourage healthy competition as part of our students’ continuous learning process.”
The BAF 2015 was held at the School of Design and Arts Amphitheater, 10-11 April 2015.