LOS ANGELES—Fil-Am director Patricio Ginelsa’s music video Love (Cupid Style) premiered last Sunday night, Feb. 8 as a 30-second commercial during the CBS broadcast of the Grammy Awards. prompted viewers to visit a CBS website to watch the online premiere of the complete five minute video.
"My first reaction when they told me was, ‘no way,’" said Ginelsa to the Asian Journal. "I got emotional because I never wanted something so much in my life. I know I won the ‘Being Reel’ contest last year but this was the first time I needed to validate myself. I never wanted anything so bad."
Ginelsa’s video was one of five winners part of a national ad campaign called Project Rising Stars presented by car manufacturer Lincoln, Y&R Team Detroit, and Filmaka.
More than 300 submissions were received and five winners selected amongst the 14 semifinalists. Each video included a song from an emerging artist, and highlighted the 2009 Lincoln MKS luxury sedan.
Ginelsa’s Love (Cupid Style) featured the song Love by Grey Boy featuring Nino Moschella and the lead actor is Fil-Am rap artist Bambu.
He said he shot the video with a $7,500 budget and a three-day deadline.
"It was grueling but well worth it," said Ginelsa.
Ginelsa, who is most known as the director of the Black Eyed Peas Apl song and a producer of the Debut, suffered a setback a few years ago after a controversy erupted from another BEP music video Bebot. He’s rebounded from that slight setback and has won the last two film contests he has entered. He said that he hopes that winning this video will lead him to bigger projects.
"It’s not guaranteed but they [the ad agency] told me after I won was you’re playing with the big boys now," said Ginelsa. "I’ve always been ready. I’m excited to see what happens in the future. If it happens for me cool but if not, it’s not going to stop me from doing what I want to do, which is features and storytelling."
Ginelsa said that he’s most proud of the fact that when people tuned in to see the music video this past Sunday on CBS, they saw a Pinoy as a main character.
"You don’t see that often," he said. "A lead Filipino character in a national spotlight."
For winning the award, Ginelsa received a $5,000 cash prize, which will be distributed accordingly to the cast and crews, he said.
( Published on February 11, 2009 in Asian Journal Los Angeles p. A3 )
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