Filipino-American filmmaker Joshua Ortiz’s short motivational film, “Listen,” won in Matt Damon and Ben Affleck’s first-ever Greenie Awards from Project Greenlight in Hollywood, USA.
Ortiz’s short film bested over 20,000 entries in the country and bagged the Most Unique Short Film award.
“I feel humbled and lucky,” Ortiz said in an interview.
Originally, he made his $30 film for his siblings, the golfer and the skater seen in the video. It was also inspired by his past struggles and failures in filmmaking.
Now, the film continued to inspire thousands of people around the world.
“I made it for my two siblings because I know that people will try and tell them that their dreams are not worth chasing, but I want them to know that no matter what people say and what failures come their way, you can’t give up,” Ortiz said.
“Since my siblings loved it, we decided to submit it to a contest. and out of thousands of entries across the nation, the film recently won the Most Unique Short Film in Ben Affleck and Matt Damon’s Project Greenlight on HBO and had the most views among all the contestants. Also, the film played at several high school assemblies to inspire the youth to reach for their dreams,” Ortiz added.
Ortiz’s inspirational film won other awards in various film festivals and got screened in high schools as well. His film had also been featured in Yahoo, Elite Daily, and other news and blog websites.
Ortiz’s success and popularity gave him an offer he did not expect.
“So… I just got off the phone with the people from Project Greenlight & Adaptive Studios and I was so nervous… The team has been very impressed with Listen and the attention it has been getting and so they asked if I’m interested in working for them,” Ortiz shared in his Facebook account.
For now, Ortiz only hoped that his short film would continue to reach and inspire more people.