16 November 2004 – The Philippine Embassy in Buenos Aires reported to the Department of Foreign Affairs that the film Magnifico by Director Maryo J. de los Reyes won the award for best full length movie at the Third International Film Festival for Children and Youth that ended on 10 November 2004 at the Cosmos Cinema in Buenos Aires.  Child actor Jario Manio was awarded a special mention for his interpretation of the role of Isko in the same movie.
 
Accepting the awards on behalf of the Philippine film industry, particularly for Director de los Reyes, Ambassador George Reyes thanked the organizers, the jury and the public for the enthusiastic reception given the movie.   “It is a moving film that is not only a portrayal of the heroic struggle of a young boy to help his family but a commentary on the conditions against which a segment of Philippine society has to struggle.   It is an expression of the universal values of filial loyalty, personal courage, solidarity and hope,” Ambassador Reyes  said.

Sponsored jointly by the Argentine National Institute for the Cinema and Audiovisual Arts and the Art Society of Nueva Mirada, the week-long festival featured more than one hundred short and full length films, documentaries and works of animation.   Magnifico, which was also adjudged best film at the Berlin Youth Film Festival earlier this year, was one of the six foreign films entered in the full length fiction film category and was unanimously chosen over movies from Finland, Sweden, Germany and Denmark. END