L-R: Marc Nelson, Director Antoinette Jadaone, Director Joey Reyes, 2nd place winner Ramil Lantican, Nespresso South East Asia Regional Business Development Manager Fabio De Gregorio, Novateur Coffee Concepts Managing Director Patrick Pesengco, Grand winner Charlene Tupas, 3rd place winner Massah Gonzales-Gamboa, Novateur Coffee Concepts Marketing Specialist Mindy Leonor, Novateur Coffee Concepts Marketing Manager Mia Silva, Finalists Chloe Villavelez, Gary Georgec, Nestlé Nespresso S.A Global Sponsoring and Experiential Events Project Manager Colas Dupont, Nespressio SA Regional Senior Marketing Executive Pei Hua Koh, Founder and former chair of Benilde film Jag Garcia and Novateur Coffee Concepts Marketing Head Millet Valdez
A CELEBRATION OF CREATIVITY, PASSION, AND RESILIENCE!
Meet the winners of Nespresso Talents 2020 Philippines
This year’s run of Nespresso Talents was a great success, hitting its goal to bring to light the creative talent of a new generation of filmmakers. Now on its 5th edition, filmmakers were challenged to create a short film in vertical format that creatively communicated the theme, Virtuous Circles. This proved to be more relevant than ever because of the pandemic crisis that has magnified the world’s need for hope—hope that envisions a good future not only for the present generation, but also for the next.
The Philippines is the first Asian market to join Nespresso Talents on a global level. “This year was a very amazing year for the Philippines, it ranked as the second country in the world with the most entries.” says Colas Dupont, Nestlé Nespresso S.A Global Sponsoring and Experiential Events Project Manager. Being a global competition, Nespresso Talents engages over 50 countries and typically garners more than 2000 entries in a variety of genres. However, this year’s run captured more than the usual number of entries despite the pandemic. “We received, in the end, more than twice than the normal number of videos submitted in the past years”, says Dupont.
L-R: Marc Nelson, Director Antoinette Jadaone, Director Joey Reyes, 2nd place winner Ramil Lantican, Nespresso South East Asia Regional Business Development Manager Fabio De Gregorio, Novateur Coffee Concepts Managing Director Patrick Pesengco, Grand winner Charlene Tupas, 3rd place winner Massah Gonzales-Gamboa, Novateur Coffee Concepts Marketing Specialist Mindy Leonor, Novateur Coffee Concepts Marketing Manager Mia Silva and Nestlé Nespresso S.A Global Sponsoring and Experiential Events Project Manager Colas Dupont
With Philippines having a rich pool of entries from talented filmmakers, the national selection of winners was no easy task for the five jurors:
• Fabio De Gregorio, Nespresso South East Asia Regional Business Development Manager
• Patrick Pesengco, Novateur Coffee Concepts Managing Director
• Director Joey Reyes, award-winning director, screenwriter, author and educator
• Director Antoinette Jadaone, multi-awarded Filipina writer, director and producer
• Marc Nelson, Nespresso Philippines Recycling Partner Advocate and WWF & World Vision Ambassador
L-R: Marc Nelson, Director Antoinette Jadaone, Director Joey Reyes, 2nd place winner Ramil Lantican, Nespresso South East Asia Regional Business Development Manager Fabio De Gregorio, Novateur Coffee Concepts Managing Director Patrick Pesengco, Grand winner Charlene Tupas and 3rd place winner Massah Gonzales-Gamboa
“All of the films in the Top 10 were exceptional. With that being said, when it came time to choose the Top 3, and eventually the overall winner, it still took some very thorough discussion and re-watching—together with the other jurors—before we all agreed on this year’s grand winner,” shared Nelson.
THE TOP 3 LOCAL WINNERS
Capping off Nespresso Talents 2020 are the following winners:
Despite differing backgrounds and personal challenges, two boys meet and one of them offers help that creates an impact in the other boy’s life.
A teacher finds herself in a ruckus when her students execute a secret surprise.
A heartwarming story that narrates a boy’s admiration for his older brother, who continues to be his role model.
“What makes this film special is that the whole thing was shot in Silay, here in Negros Occidental,” says My Brother director, Gonzales-Gamboa. “Because we shot everything here, we were able to show what kind of life people have…It shows you exactly what the city is all about, the kind of life that a typical Filipino family has.”
Despite the thrilling and joyous experience of taking part in a renowned competition, Lantican also shared the challenges he faced during the production of his film, Cheat Day. “We had a lot of struggles because we had to create a film with 17 [to] 18 kids [whom we] just met, and did the workshop, and instructed what they needed to do in just 5 hours. Yes, we only had 5 hours to finish this film.”
The Grand Prize Winner, whose film was applauded by Reyes as “extremely original,” confessed that it was her first time to direct a film. “All I had was a vision and some closest friends and family who believed in me,” says Tupas. “For every frame, I strived to create something real; and then I had this crazy idea, I got non-professional actors and trusted that it will all just work together. Thankfully it did.”
According to Reyes, the top films stood out among the rest because of its clear and effective portrayal of the Filipino people. “I’m so happy that the best films were not glamor films. People look like people. This is the Filipino humanized and not glamorized; at the same time, talking so much about being Filipino and expressing their experience,” says Reyes.
The Grand Prize taken home by Tupas for Tsinelas includes cash equivalent to EU1,500 + Nespresso machine and capsules + trophy. Furthermore, Tupas is given an all-expense paid trip to Cannes as a delegate of Nespresso Talents 2021 (the date of the event is yet to be announced). The 2nd Prize taken home by Lantican for Cheat Day includes cash equivalent to EU1,000 + Nespresso machine and capsules + trophy. The 3rd Prize taken home by Gonzales-Gamboa for My Brother includes cash equivalent to Eu500 + Nespresso machine and capsules + trophy.
CREATIVITY IN THE TIME OF PANDEMIC
The traditions of filmmaking are evolving not only because of the effects of the pandemic, but also because of the industry’s demand for change. “That’s the fun part of filmmaking—that you can never do the same thing over and over again. Part of the joy is that there is a demand for change,” says Reyes. While the vertical format grows in popularity, Reyes predicts that it may become one of the options that mainstream cinema could adapt post crisis. Should this occur, the future of filmmaking would be one that further pushes filmmakers to think outside the box. Jadaone explains, “This kind of filmmaking—the vertical format—makes the filmmaker think of ways to tell stories na hindi nakasanayan dati. So what’s interesting and what’s exciting is that mas nag-eevolve yung process. We are not only limited by the aspect ratio.”
Creativity plays an integral role in Nespresso. “For us we see a clear link between the heart of our business, which is coffee; and the persons that are behind the coffee, coffee farmers; and filmmakers—because they all share a commonality, which is craftmanship,”says De Gregorio. “Nespresso is more than just coffee. It’s really more about celebrating life. These films, this talent, this competition, prove that, “added Pesengco.
As Nespresso Talents 2020 closes, the 6th edition launching in 2021 is another fete to look forward to. Despite the changes that the world continues to face, stories of human resilience, kindness, and love will always stay relevant and needed by all people.
Watch the Rewards Ceremony and view the winners’ creations at www.nespresso.com/talents/ph/en/contest
Contact information
Novateur Coffee Concepts Inc
Exclusive Philippine Distributor
Melissa Valdez (mvaldez@novateur.ph)
Mia Silva (msilva@novateur.ph)
About Nestlé Nespresso SA
Nestlé Nespresso SA is the pioneer and reference for highest-quality portioned coffee. The company works with more than 110,000 farmers in 14 countries through its AAA Sustainable Quality™ Program to embed sustainability practices on farms and the surrounding landscapes. Launched in 2003 in collaboration with The Rainforest Alliance, the program helps to improve the yield and quality of harvests, ensuring a sustainable supply of high quality coffee and improving livelihoods of farmers and their communities.
Headquartered in Lausanne, Switzerland, Nespresso operates in 84countries and has 14,250 employees. In 2019, it operated a global retail network of 810 boutiques. For more information, visit the Nespresso corporate website www.nestle-nespresso.com
