The Film Development Council of the Philippines will stage the first Sineng Pambansa National Film Festival in Davao City from June 29 to July 3, 2012, featuring the finalists of the FDCP’s first National Film Competition held last year.
The festival films will be screened at SM City Davao, Abreeza, G-Mall and NCCC Mall.
The film festival is a joint undertaking of the FDCP and the city government of Davao headed by Mayor Sarah Duterte. The formal opening on June 29 will be a red carpet event, at the SM Cinema 3. Awarding ceremonies for the winners among the finalists will take place at the Abreeza Cinema 4 on July 1.
Highlighting the opening night on June 29 will be a special screening of excerpts from the latest film of Cannes Best Director Brillante Mendoza, “Thy Womb”, a joint project of the FDCP and Mendoza’s CenterStage Productions, and shot on location in Tawi-Tawi. Mendoza and the film’s lead actor, internationally acclaimed actress Nora Aunor, will be the guests at the opening of the festival.
In line with its program of bringing national film festivals to the regions, the FDCP selected Davao to be the staging ground for the first Sineng Pambansa National Film Festival because of the city’s leading role in the political, economic and cultural history of Mindanao. With its wealth of local talent, it is also an important regional base for the emerging independent film community in the Philippines.
Sineng Pambansa (National Cinema) is the flagship program of the FDCP, whose guiding motto is “bringing Filipino films to Filipinos” all over the country and in Filipino communities overseas. The FDCP has staged nine film festivals since last year, in Iloilo, Zamboanga, Baguio, San Fernando in Pampanga, Marawi, Tawi-Tawi, and Ilocos Norte.
The FDCP initiated the National Film Competition in September last year and received about 120 entries consisting of full-length features and documentaries from three geographical areas (Luzon, Visayas, Mindanao), and animation shorts from all over the country. A unique aspect of this competition is that the language of the locality was used in the dialog or the narration, in order to underscore the vitality of the country’s indigenous cultural heritage through the medium of film.
The 18 finalists were awarded seed money to finish their films. A second batch of meritorious entries would be funded later this year.
The finalists from the first FDCP National Film Competition, and the regions they represent, are the following:
Full-length feature film
LUZON
• “Ang Mga Kidnapper ni Ronnie Lazaro”, Sigfried Barros-Sanchez, Metro Manila
• “Qwerty”, Eduardo Lejano Jr., Manila
• “Kanana Kanu”, Jocelyn Banasan-Kapuno, Kalinga
VISAYAS
• “Ang Mga Aswang”, John Raymund Macahilas, Iloilo
• “Beadworks”, Ronny N. Poblacion, Iloilo
• “Gugma Sang Panahon Sang Bakunawa”, Peter Solis Nery, Iloilo
MINDANAO
• “Tambara”, Orvil C. Bantayan, Davao
• “Duwaya (Polygamy)”, Najib Alyhar Benito-Zacaria, Marawi
• “Malan”, Agustin Pagusara Jr., Davao
• “In Banka Ha Ut Sin Duwa Sapah”, Fyred Alsad Alfad III, Jolo, Sulu
• “Qiyamah”, Gutierrez Mangansakan II, Maguindanao
Documentary
LUZON
• “Jingle Lang ang Pahina”, Dominador Escasa Jr., Tagaytay
• “Illustrated by”, Levi 'Pepper' Marcelo, Manila
VISAYAS
• “Ginabuhi It Bulig (Binubuhay ng Pagtulong)”, Lester G. Babiera, Aklan
• “Walay Tumo’y ng Punterya (No End in Sight)”, Cierlito Espejo Tabay, Cebu
MINDANAO
• “Tagurih: The Kites of Sulu”, Dempster P. Samarista, Sulu
Animation (national)
• “Kalon”, Blecyrezza E. Piluden
• “Si Pagong at si Matsing”, Analyne D. Pineda
Seasoned film experts will comprise the jury for the films participating in the National Film Festival featuring the finalists of the FDCP’s National Film Competition.
They are Christian Merer, Counsellor for Cultural Affairs of the French Embassy and Sabrina Baracetti, president of the Centro Espressioni Cinematografiche and festival president of Far East Film Festival in Odine, Italy (documentary); Kim Ji-Seok, executive programmer of the Busan International Film Festival and Paolo Bertolin, consultant of Venice Film Festival, (full-length feature), with two Filipino film critics beefing up the jury.
