He is the man behind the award-winning films Batang West Side (2001), Ebolusyon ng Isang Pamilyang Pilipino (2004), Death in the Land of Encantos (2007), and Melancholia (2008).

Here are the winners at the 2009 Cinemanila International Film Festival:

Main Competition

Best Actor - Alfredo Castro in Tony Manero (Chile/Brazil)
Best Actress - Tsilla Chelton in Pandora's Box (Peru/Spain)
Grand Jury Prize - Tulpan by Sergey Dvortsevoy (Germany/Kazakhstan/Switzerland/Russia/Poland)
Lino Brocka Grand Prize - Hunger by Steve McQueen (UK/Ireland)

SEA Competition

Best SEA Short Focal Point by Alizera Khatami and Ali Seiffouri (Malaysia)
Best SEA Film - Talentime by Yasmin Ahmad (Malaysia)
Special Mention - Woman on Fire Looks for Water by Woo Ming Jin (Malaysia)

Young Cinema

Best Short Film - To Siomai Love by Remton Siega Zuasola
Ishmael Bernal Award for Young Cinema - Remton Siega Zuasola for To Siomai Love

Digital Lokal

Lino Grand Prize - Anacbanua by Christopher Gozum
Lino Grand Jury Prize - Biyaheng Lupa by Armando Lao
Best Director - Christopher Gozum for Anacbanua

The Lino Grand Jury Prize was bagged by Biyaheng Lupa by first-time director Bing Lao. His film tells the story of individual passengers as they journey to the southeastern side of the country aboard a bus.

Anacbanua (The Child of the Sun), considered to be the first digital feature film in the Pangasinan language, bagged two awards: Lino Grand Prize award and Best Director award. This Christopher Gozum film is a non-linear film about a poet's return to his homeland in Pangasinan.

The Cebuano film To Siomai Love, which also bagged two prizes that night, shows a man's attempts to get over his aching heart. Its director, Remton Siega Zuasola, also received the Ishmael Bernal Award for Most Outstanding Young Film Maker, a recognition he shares with past recipients Raya Martin and John Torres.