Ella Arcangel: “Oyayi sa Dilim” Wins at the 14th ANIMAHENASYON Awards

If you have been following this blog for a while, you may know by now that Julius Villanueva’s Ella Arcangel is one of my most frequent topics. It is quite special to me not only because it is one of the bestsellers in our online art and books shop mervstore.com, but also because I’m a genuine fan of the series and its titular character Ella. It was early last year when my husband Mervin Malonzo completed the animated adaptation of one of the stories from the episodic series. He was mostly a one-man team in terms of the animation, sound design and voice characters. I helped by lending my voice to Ella’s character, and his brother Jepoi Malonzo created the original soundtrack. It was entirely an independent production funded by close friends and fans of the series.

ANIMAHENASYON is an annual animation festival that showcases Filipino talent in animation. It was late last year when they announced the winners of their 14th Annual Animation Awards and I am so proud to say that Ella Arcangel: “Oyayi sa Dilim” (Lullaby in the Dark) was announced one of the Top 5. Due to health concerns and restrictions there was sadly no actual awards ceremony at the time, but you can watch the virtual event here.

This February, we received the most awaited trophy along with a few other goodies from the organization. I thought I might as well do a quick celebratory blog post to share the good news with you all! When the project first started, the main goal is just to finish something that we are passionate about and to share the product of our efforts to the community. That is fulfillment in itself. However, the positive feedback from the audience and this official recognition by none other than the Animation Council of the Philippines is the validation and energy boost that we need to continue creating and to further contribute to the developing Philippine animation industry.

The next installment in the series is in the works, though for a small independent group like Haliya Publishing, it will take more time. But I can confidently say that it will be even bigger and better than the first short story because this time around, a group of talented people will be joining as voice actors and there will be new music as well. Just a lot of exciting stuff!

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You may still watch the full short here for FREE. Please help us spread the love by liking/subscribing/sharing!

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If you want an in-depth look at the creative process behind the animation project, here’s a Behind The Scenes/ The Making feature. You’re welcome!

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About ANIMAHENASYON

Since 2007, Animation Council of the Philippines (ACPI) has been organizing ANIMAHENASYON, an annual animation festival that showcases Filipino talent in animation. The event is composed of plenary sessions on animation, technical workshop sessions, and an exhibition of companies offering animation and other related creative services. The five (5) days event also includes a competition for aspiring and professional animators. Bringing in renowned and high-caliber speakers and personalities from international studios such as Walt Disney and Universal Studios, Animahenasyon attracts more than 3,000 participants from all over the Philippines.

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