May pamamalat sa tinig, bagamat malinaw ang naipahayag na mensahe ni Mr. Antonio "Tonyboy" Cojuangco bilang closing remarks sa ginanap na 7th Cinemalaya Awards Night noong Linggo ng gabi, July 24, sa Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP).

Si Mr. Cojuangco ang pinuno ng Econolink Investments, Inc. at pangunahing tagapagtaguyod ng seven-year-old indie filmfest para sa industriya ng pelikulang Pilipino.

Sa kanyang mensahe ay nabanggit ni Mr. Cojuangco ang madalas daw itanong sa kanya ng mga kaibigan: "Why support Cinemalaya?"

Aniya, "At 59, you never plan your retirement. You take it when it comes.

"Throughout these crises, you try to focus on the more important things, more permanent things that make you happy.

"The more important things are here on earth.  

"We have hope in the Philippines—in our hospitality, tourism, and creative industry.

"Cinemalaya has proven it has very creative people... I have found heaven here on earth... thru Cinemalaya," wika pa ng itinuturing na "Father of Cinemalaya."

With these words, Tonyboy vowed to "continuously support the Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival."

GRETCHEN'S PLAN. Minutes before the closing ceremonies, nakausap naman ng PEP.ph (Philippine Entertainment Portal) ang aktres at partner ni Tonyboy na si Gretchen Barretto sa Main Theater lobby ng CCP.

We asked Gretchen about the extent of her own support for the Cinemalaya Filmfest.

"Well, not only because of Tony but mainly because dito ako nanggaling sa industriyang ito," sabi niya.

"Nagpapasalamat ako that Tony shares the same love for this business that I am in, so I am really, really proud that he's doing his part in the industry that I love most. Kung saan ako nanggaling."

Mula noong 2005, nang magsimula ang annual Cinemalaya Film Festival, ay hindi pa nakakagawa ng isang independent film si Gretchen.

May plano rin ba siyang gumawa ng isang indie one of these days?