(Clockwise, from left) 'Captive,' 'Nono,' 'Pusong Wazak!' and 'Ang Babae sa Septic Tank' are ready to captivate the international film community at the Berlinale (Stills courtesy of mubi.com, berlinale.de, Facebook and Youtube, respectively)

MANILA, Philippines – Four Filipino independent films are set to compete in different sections at the prestigious 62nd Internationale Filmfestpiele Berline (Berlinale) to be held February.

According to the festival’s official website, “Captive” by Cannes award-winning director Brillante Mendoza will battle it out with 12 other films in the main Competition section for the Golden Bear for Best Film; Silver Bear trophies for The Jury Grand Prix, Best Director, Best Director, Best Actress, Best Actor, Outstanding Artistic Contribution, and Best Script; and the Alfred Bauer Prize for the film “that opens ‘new perspectives for the art of film.’”

“Captive” stars French actress Isabelle Huppert as a volunteer kidnapped by the Abu Sayyaf Group in Mindanao.

Rommel Tolentino’s “Nono” will likewise be in competition with 11 others under the Generation Kplus section, where the following awards are given: Crystal Bear trophies for Best Film and Best Short Film, and the Grand Prix of the Deutsches Kinderhilfswerk nods also for Best Film and Best Short Film.

The film follows the story of a boy named Toto, who badly wants to join the Linggo ng Wika declamation contest despite having a harelip

Short film “PUSONG WAZAK! Isa Na Namang Kwento Ng Pag-ibig Sa Pagitan Ng Isang Kriminal at Isang Puta” by director Khavn de la Cruz will also be in competition under the Berlinale Shorts division with 25 others. The awards presented here are the Golden Bear for Best Short Film, Silver Bear Jury Award, DAAD Short Film Prize of the Artists-In-Berlin Programme, and the Berlin Short Film Nominee for the European Film Awards.

In a press release, the Berlinale wrote that “PUSONG WAZAK!” “deconstructs this often recounted tale of love between a similar couple… and explores in fleeting images the likelihood of dying too early from the violence so omnipresent in the Philippines today.”

“Captive” and “PUSONG WAZAK!” will also have its World Premiere at the festival, while “Nono” holds its European Premiere.

Meanwhile, the highly-commended satirical flick on independent filmmaking, Marlon Rivera's “Ang Babae sa Septic Tank,” will be among the 37 films to be screened at the festival’s Forum section.

The Berlinale's website states that no awards were originally handed out to the films in Forum because of the “conviction that it should keep some distance from the competitive character of the Competition”; however, independent juries do present the following:  Caligari Film Award, FIPRESCI Jury, Ecumenical Jury, Best First Feature Award, an award from the C.I.C.A.E. (Confédération Internationale des Cinémas D´Art et Essai), TEDDY AWARD, NETPAC Award, Peace Film Award, CINEMA fairbindet Award, Tagesspiegel Readers’ Prize, and the Siegessäule" Readers’ Award - ELSE.

The 62nd Berlinale will be held from Feb. 9 to 19 in Germany.