Filipino filmmaker Patrick Alcedo’s “They Call Me Dax” short film has won the Best Short Documentary at the Cannes Indies Cinema Awards.
Alcedo, who is based in Toronto, Canada, has written and directed the documentary, which highlights a 15-year-old student trying to survive as a ballet dancer.
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This documentary is presently an official nominee in the online festival Phoenix Shorts in Toronto where the jury selects the winners of each category through private screenings.
Earlier, Alcedo’s first feature-length film — “A Piece of Paradise” had won the Best Canadian Film Award and the Best First Feature Film Award at the 2017 Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival.
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Recalling his love affair with documentaries from 2009, Alcedo has since then directed, written, and produced nine films including the Cannes Award winning film about the ballet dancer. A native of Andagao, Aklan, Alcedo was born in a family of dancers and musicians, which was highlighted through his efforts in making this film.
The filmmaker, who is presently chair and associate professor in the Department of Dance at York University in Toronto, Canada, noted that — as a dance anthropologist –, he considered documentaries as ‘incredible’ partners to his books, teaching and promotion of Filipino expressive culture within the Philippines and in the diaspora.”
