Judgment Day for Tikbalang and KaCASA

Before the clock strikes 12 tonight, I would know two things:

1. Whether Neil Gaiman and whoever the other judges are would name our movie, Anak ng Tikbalang, the Best Short Film in the Fully Booked Neil Gaiman Graphic/Fiction Awards.

2. Whether resident members of the Communication Arts Students Association (CASA) have elected the candidates of my party, Partido KaCASA, to any or all seven posts in the CASA Executive Board for next year.

ON TIKBALANG
The movie was written and directed by my good friend Dek. When she asked me to manage its production sometime in mid-2008, I immediately agreed. The concept was fun and to be part of it was just something I couldn't pass up.

We made the movie specifically as an entry to the upcoming Fully Booked Neil Gaiman Awards, which opened the Best Short Film Category up only that year. More than a year passed from shooting and submitting Tikbalang to being notified that we made the short-list of nominees. Being short-listed meant that our movie had a one-in-ten chance of being best film by Neil himself. It also made Tikbalang eligible for the People's Choice Awards, which I've been actively campaigning for in the last few days on various media platforms - mostly thru text and Internet.

ON KACASA
I went back to the den of tigers, UST, early last week to meet with our candidates. As it turned out, we've encountered a major bump in the road when our President and PRO were idiotically disqualified by the AB COMELEC. A petition to the university-wide COMELEC yielded favorable results when our candidates were finally allowed to run.

Anyway, my real purpose on coming back and meeting with our candidates was to train them in their speeches and give them advice, having been in their situation twice. I actually ran twice during my junior year - in June when I ran for VP-Internal and in March when I aimed for the Presidency. I won on both occasions.

The campaign was held late last week and the elections were done the past two days. Canvasing would be tonight and the results to be announced later.

So I'm excited and nervous but nonetheless calm about both results. After all, we've done our best. The rest is up to fate now and I can only hope that it would be so kind.

Thank you to everyone who supported our movie and our candidates.

 
Almost every KaCASA candidate from '04 to '07.
Photo from Lester.