The season has ended and the results are in.

Congratulations to the selected students of the Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP) who are behind the documentary “Pundido” for winning the grand prize and the viewer’s choice award in the recently concluded season of Dokyu: Ang Bagong Mata ng Pinoy Documentaries aired over ABC 5.

The awarding was actually done last August 9 at ABC 5 in Novaliches, Quezon City. I understand that the awarding ceremony was aired in Dokyu‘s last episode for this season last August 11.

Quoting from ABC 5’s press release, “`Pundido’ was the only finalist which got a perfect score of 30 from any of the three respected critics from the academe and the broadcast industry, with UP journalism professor Danilo Arao giving it an unblemished mark of 10 in all three categories, namely form/technical, content/relevance, and x-factor.”

Yes, I gave it a perfect score because it was, in my professional opinion, a cut above the rest. The script is well-written, the direction is generally well-executed, the pacing is good, visual elements are occasionally used to convey messages/emotions, the soundtrack is original and the technical production (particularly in the shooting of night scenes) is fine.

The people behind the documentary allowed the story to unfold by itself. They resisted the temptation of being preachy and too melodramatic, the mortal sins of some amateur documentarists who tackle poverty and deprivation.

You are prone to have a range of emotions in watching the documentary — i.e., frustration over the plight of the poor and the differently abled, pity towards the blind man who is forced to work as ice drop vendor by day and balut vendor by night, hate towards the blind man’s family members for not helping augment the family income, among many others. 

This documentary, however, proves to be different from the usual documentaries on poverty by giving hope to the viewers in a very, very subtle way which I prefer not to disclose if only to encourage readers to watch it.

I don’t want to give away the ending for those who were unable to watch Dokyu‘s June 29 episode where it was aired (and I sincerely hope that ABC 5 will replay this episode in the future). However, this much I can write: You can know the reason for the use of the title “Pundido” only towards the end.

I also personally congratulate those who made the documentaries which were adjudged second and third place, namely “Kendi Man” and Nasaan ang Katawan ni Baklesh” both from the University of the Philippines College of Mass Communication (UP CMC). While I don’t want to disclose the scores I gave to all of the 19 documentaries, I gave high scores to these two entries.

The other finalists also deserve to be commended:

• “When Fingers Talk Pink” (De La Salle University-Manila)
• “Ingay” (DLS-College of St. Benilde)
• “DeafTechCom” (DLS-College of St. Benilde)
• “Frontliners” (St. Scholastica’s College Manila)
• “Dikaurong Madiraga Putok/Sakit ng Pulang Lupa” (St. Scholastica’s College Manila)
• “Biyahed Daya/Biyaheng Langit” (Colegio de San Juan de Letran)
• “Graveyard Shift” (University of Makati/CSB)
• “Kwentong Pa[m]bahay” (UP Los Baños)
• “Tsildren: Employed” (Holy Cross of Davao College)
• “Isla Pulo” (PUP)
• “Batang Bakaw” (PUP) 
• “Estropa” (UP Diliman)
• “Banda Rito, Banda Roon” (UP Diliman)
• “Veganda” (UP Diliman)
• “Hanap Patay, Hanapbuhay” (UP Diliman)
• “Koreanoy” (UP Diliman)

Indeed, the students, faculty and alumni of these schools have every reason to be proud.

At this point, I sincerely hope that Dokyu will have another season. Sources at ABC 5 tell me that Dokyu‘s decision to make this season a student documentary competition has paid off: Its ratings have increased this season!

If only for the increase in its ratings this season and its contribution to producing quality documentaries (not to mention its indirect way of proving that youth is not wasted on the young), don’t you think Dokyu deserves another run?