Globe Studios bagged another prestigious international award as its film Kun Maupay Man It Panahon (Whether the Weather is Fine) won the Cinema e Gioventu Prize (Youth Jury Prize) in the recent 74th Locarno Film Festival in Switzerland.

Produced alongside local production houses Cinematografica, Plan C, House on Fire, Quantum Films, iWanTFC, Dreamscape, Blacksheep, CBM Films and international partners AAND Company (Singapore), KawanKawan Media (Indonesia), Weydemann Bros. (Germany), Whether the Weather is Fine is the only Philippine film selected to compete in the Locarno Festival’s Concorso Cineasti del Presente (Filmmakers of the Present Competition).

The festival is known for highlighting works from up and coming directors around the world.

The movie featuring Daniel Padilla, Rans Rifol and Charo Santos-Concio focuses on the story of a young man fighting to survive while searching desperately for missing loved ones.

It was based on Director Carlo Manatad’s own experiences from the aftermath of Typhoon Yolanda, one of the most powerful typhoons in history which devastated coastal regions in the Central Philippines eight years ago.

“The Cinema e Gioventu Award means a lot for me as a young filmmaker. As someone who just started delving into feature filmmaking, cinema for me, has always been a medium that transcends national and cultural boundaries. I am humbled and excited by this recognition and will continue to work hard in giving a voice to my fellow Filipinos through stories that have yet to be told,” said Manatad.

Whether the Weather is Fine is also the only Filipino film that was invited to premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) this year.

It will be featured from September 9-18, under the Contemporary World Cinema section.

“Globe Studios plays a role in telling the stories of ordinary Filipinos. We fund and produce films that we see would allow audiences, local and foreign, to better appreciate our unique culture,” Quark Henares, head of Globe Studios, said.

He added, “The film project (Whether the Weather is Fine) was already greenlit when I came into Globe Studios and even then, I knew it was a great story to tell — one that would not only enlighten its audiences, but also inspire the Filipinos amid these trying times.”

Henares also shared that he believed the creative partnership between co-writer Gian Abraham, director Carlo, producer Armi Cacanindin and executive producer Joji Alonso integral to the final cut of the story.

Another short film by Manatad that Globe Studios co-produced was The Imminent Immanent, which also had its world premiere in TIFF in 2018.

A year before, Manatad’s Jodilerks dela Cruz, Employee of the Year, was also presented at the same venue.