Saipan-made film wins at GIFF

Elijah Joshua Pajarillaga, right, wrote, directed, and starred in Steps on the Shore, playing the lead role of Neil. The film won the Best Made in the Marianas Award at the 2022 Guam International Film Festival. Inset shows the Best Made in the Marianas Award. (CONTRIBUTED PHOTO)

Saipan filmmaker Elijah Joshua Pajarillaga’s short film, Steps on the Shore, won the Best Made in the Marianas award at the 2022 Guam International Film Festival, also known as the GIFF. The film, which he wrote, directed, and starred in, bested three other films to win the coveted award.

Pajarillaga was ecstatic when he heard the news and immediately expressed his appreciation to those that helped bring the film to life. “I’d like to share this award with my family, my friends and crew, and, of course, with Dr. Galvin Deleon Guerrero and Mrs. Beth Nunez who advised and supported me with this film,” he said. “This film is theirs as much as it is mine.”

Nunez is the principal of Pajarillaga’s alma mater, Grace Christian Academy Saipan, and Deleon Guerrero is president of Northern Marianas College and a local filmmaker who produced the film. In 2019, Deleon Guerrero’s film, We Drank Our Tears: The Story of Rafael Mafnas, which was directed by Justin Ocampo and Angelo Manese, also won big at the GIFF, taking home the Best in Festival award.

Deleon Guerrero, who attended the GIFF as a festival panelist and as a representative for the film, was proud of Pajarillaga’s accomplishment. “His film moved many members of the GIFF audience, who connected with the film’s authenticity and warmth, and praised its intentional cinematography.”

For his part, Pajarillaga was worried that the film would not resonate with audiences. “It was deeply personal to me, so I needed to tread a fine line when it came to how intense the film should be emotionally,” he said. However, winning the GIFF award validates his experience, providing him with what he called “much, much needed proof that I can confidently continue to stay true to the emotions and themes that I’ve set out to explore. …It is also an encouragement to continue in my filmmaking and storytelling goals, and I’m truly excited to continue forward.”

That encouragement is something Pajarillaga wants to extend to others, especially young filmmakers. As he put it, “With perseverance and an open mind, you can chase and realize your creative dreams.”

Steps on the Shore follows a high school graduate during his last days on island before heading off to college as he grapples with lingering conflicts involving family and his sense of belonging to the island.

Pajarillaga is a son of the Marianas who graduated in 2021 from Grace Christian Academy Saipan and is currently pursuing a film degree from Wesleyan University in Connecticut. At Wesleyan, he has also been a videographer for the university’s Communications Department and the Women’s Volleyball Team. While home from college this past summer, he served as a volunteer on the broadcasting and media team for the 2022 Pacific Mini Games that were held in the Northern Mariana Islands.

As the only film festival in the Western Pacific, the GIFF was founded 12 years ago by brothers Don and Kel Muña, whose film, Shiro’s Head, earned international acclaim and established them as the region’s preeminent filmmakers. They started the festival as a way to bring international films and filmmakers to the Marianas while also promoting filmmakers from the Marianas. Past festival winners include Academy Award, Emmy, Sundance and Cannes Palme d’Or winners. (PR)