“Handog sa Bansa” Screening for Lav Diaz’s “Mula sa Kung ano Ang Noon”

Widely acknowledged for bringing the singular highest honor to Philippine Cinema, “Mula sa Kung ano Ang Noon,” Lav Diaz’s Martial Law epic, will have “Handog sa Bansa” special screening on September 21, 2014 at the SM Cinema Centerstage at the SM Mall of Asia.

The special screening, coinciding with the anniversary of the declaration of the Martial Law, is meant to be an offering to the Filipino people (free admission for the public) and will be attended by honored guests. It celebrates the film’s recent triumph at the Festival del Film Locarno 2014 in Switzerland, where it won the Pardo d’oro (Golden Leopard) Grand Prize. The International film festival in Locarno, held last August 6-16, is one of the oldest and most prestigious A-list film festivals in Europe, in the league of Cannes, Venice, and Berlin.

Presented by the Film development Council of the Philippines and Sine Olivia Pilipinas, in partnership with SM Cinema, the special screening is, additionally highlighted by a photo and video exhibit outside Centerstage. A short program with the cast and crew precedes the film screening at 2:30pm.

The film tackles life in the village in one of the remotest regions of the Philippines before Martial Law was declared.

Diaz in an earlier interview with the FDCP entices Filipinos to see the film, “[as] it talks about what happened in the last two years before martial law. It’s based on real events. The characters are based on real characters in our village when I was in grade six up to first year high school. I reenacted everything from memory. But it’s about the coming, it’s a foreboding thing, it’s a horror film actually. We’re entering hell and we felt that then.”

In Locarno, the film also garnered the FIPRESCI International Critics Prize; the International Federation of Film Societies Don Quixote prize, the Youth Jury Environment Is Quality of Life Prize, and the Boccalino de Oro Independent Critics Award for Best Actress for lead Hazel Orencio.

The photo and video exhibit will chronicle the journey of the film’s cast and crew, from the film’s inception and pre-production stages up until the win at Locarno and the triumphant return to the Philippines. The public can view the exhibit as early as in the days leading up to the September 21 event.

For more screening information and updates, please visit the “Mula Sa Kung ano Ang Noon” Facebook page, FDCP Facebook page, and FDCP website (fdcp.ph). Treats and prizes await lucky film viewers.

Read More »

Quentin Tarantino to be Given the Lifetime Achievement Award in the 9th Cinemanila International Film Festival

Tarantino Thrilla in Cinemanila: Quentin Tarantino to be Given the Lifetime Achievement Award in the 9th Cinemanila International Film Festival

Internationally acclaimed filmmaker Quentin Tarantino (Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction, Kill Bill) will be hitting Philippine shores in August to receive the Lifetime Achievement Award during special ceremonies in the 9th Cinemanila International Film Festival. Tarantino will be receiving the distinction for his iconic contributions to world cinema and continued support to the proliferation and promotion of Asian and independent films.

Tarantino’s love for Asian films has inspired him to make use of various cinematic styles from films of the region such as wire kung-fu scenes, sword fights and stylized action scenes in his own movies. His admiration for Asian cinema has made him one of its most significant advocates; the release of Zhang Yimou’s Hero and Wong Kar Wai’s Chungking Express in the United States were made possible by Tarantino.
Renowned for cult favorites like Reservoir Dogs and Kill Bill, Tarantino has won accolades and citations from various groups, including an Oscar nomination for his direction of the critically acclaimed film Pulp Fiction. In 2004, he was selected to be the head of the jury of the Cannes Film Festival.

Catch renowned director Quentin Tarantino as he graces the Festival this August. The Cinemanila International Film Festival, now on its 9th year, will have its official run from 8 to 19 August 2007. It will showcase the best of local and foreign cinema, including recent winners from the Berlin and Cannes film festivals. A special ASEAN Night celebrating the works of the region’s best filmmakers will open the event on 8 August. Cinemanila will also be having a special Focus on the films of Bollywood (10 August), South Africa (11 August), and Turkey (12 August). Everyone is invited to these screenings and to the seminars and workshops. These include Master Classes in Directing (10-11 August) and Scriptwriting (12-13 August), a seminar on the Importance of Film Archiving in the Philippines (14 August), and a seminar on Indie Filmmaking (15-16 August).

The CIFF is organized jointly by the Independent Cinema Association of the Philippines (ICAP), the Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP), and a specially commissioned inter-agency committee.

For more information, you may refer to the official CIFF website (http://www.cinemani la.com.ph) or contact the Cinemanila Secretariat through its email address: cinemanila@gmail.com.

Read More »

Rules for FDCP / 9th Cinemanila International Film Festival Scriptwriting Contest

Rules for FDCP / 9th Cinemanila International Film Festival Scriptwriting Contest

1) The Scriptwriting Contest is open from 28 June 2007 to 12 August 2007. The deadline will coincide with the first day of the Master Class in Scriptwriting workshop. The contest is open to all current and former Filipino citizens of all ages. Current members of the Cinemanila Secretariat and employees of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) and the Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP) are not eligible for entry.

2) Entrants may submit only one (1) entry for the contest.

3) Entries may be in English or Tagalog, but entries in the latter must be accompanied by an English translation.

4) Only works that have not undergone production may be entered. Entries which have been awarded a prize in another contest before 12:00 m.n. of 12 August 2007 are not qualified for the awards.

5) The work submitted must be the entrant’s own and to which he or she has absolute ownership of all intellectual property rights thereto.

6) The entry must consist of material good for 90 to 120 minutes of film (average 95 to 125 pages).

7) Adaptations of existing material (e.g., books by other authors) are eligible. In this case, the entrant must submit along with his or her entry the written consent of the author of the existing work to have his or her work be adapted for contest entry. The consent must be notarized and should include a clear and categorical statement that Cinemanila and its partners shall be exempt from liability in the event that the adaptation is found to infringe on the intellectual property rights of the author.

8) Entrants will retain ownership rights to their submitted scripts, under the condition that Cinemanila and the FDCP be duly acknowledged in the event of the script resulting in a production. The FDCP and Cinemanila reserve the right to assist the entrant in this regard.

9) Entrants must submit three (3) copies of his or her entry, each fastened with brads. Entries must be typewritten or computerized and must follow this format:

a) 8.5” x 11” white 3-hole punched paper;
b) One-inch margin on all sides, except left (between 1.2” and 1.6”);
c) Courier size 12 (no bold or italics); and
d) Paged in the upper right hand corner (except first page).

Entrants must also submit a soft copy of their work in MS Word document (.doc), Rich Text File (.rtf), or PDF format in a CD or diskette. The entrant’s real name and address must not appear on any of the pages of the entry. When asked for a name in the Entry Form or elsewhere, the entrant must indicate a pseudonym.

10) Entrants must submit all hard and soft copies of their entry along with the official Entry Form and their resume flat in a 9” x 12” envelope addressed to the Cinemanila Secretariat. The deadline for all entries is 12:00 n of 12 August 2007.

11) The winners of the 9th Cinemanila International Film Festival Scriptwriting Contest will be announced and awarded during the Closing Night ceremonies of the Festival. The prizes are: 1st – PhP200,000.00; 2nd – PhP150,000.00; and 3rd – PhP100,000.00.

12) The 9th Cinemanila International Film Festival Scriptwriting Contest and the awards are made possible by the joint efforts of the Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP) and the Cinemanila International Film Festival.

Read More »

Call for Entries: Cinemanila 3rd Digital Lokal Competition

Call for Entries to the 3rd Digital Lokal Competition of the Cinemanila International Film Festival; Deadline Extended to 11 July 2007

Entries to the Digital Lokal Competition of the 9th Cinemanila International Film Festival are now being accepted. The deadline for submission has been extended to 11 July 2007.

The competition, 3rd Digital Lokal Competition of the Cinemanila International Film Festival, is open to all Filipino filmmakers with digital full-feature films (DV / HD / 24P / HDV) in Filipino, or any regional language/dialect with English subtitles. To be eligible for participation, films must have been produced after January 2006 and should not have been exhibited commercially, locally or internationally, or in prior local festivals (it should make its premiere showing in Cinemanila). Entries must be 80 minutes (minimum) to 130 minutes (maximum) in length including credits.

The Entry Selection Committee of the 3rd Digital Lokal Competition of the Cinemanila International Film Festival will choose ten (10) local digital films from among the qualified entries, to participate in the Digital Festival Competition.

The 9th Cinemanila International Film Festival is organized jointly by the Independent Cinema Association of the Philippines (ICAP), the Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP), the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA), and SM Cinemas, and a specially commissioned inter-agency committee. It will be held from 8 to 19 August in SM Mall of Asia and selected SM theatres in Metro Manila.

Aside from parallel competitions for full-length, short and documentary films, there will also be distinct exhibitions, tributes, marathon showings, conferences and other special events. Seminars and workshops will also be held during the festival and will cover subjects and issues on independent filmmaking. Directors, producers, critics and actors throughout Asia, Europe, and North America will be invited to attend the film event.

For entry forms and further details on 3rd Digital Lokal Competition of the Cinemanila International Film Festival, please visit the Cinemanila e-group at http://movies.groups.yahoo.com/group/cinemanila/. Please click the File link on the left navigation column of the e-group. The entry forms to the 3rd Digital Lokal Competition of the Cinemanila International Film Festival will be available on the website (http://www.cinemanila.com.ph ) starting 12 March 2007. You can email us at cinemanila@gmail.com.

You can also contact:
The Secretariat
9TH CINEMANILA INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL COMMITTEE
Rm. 5C-2 NCCA Bldg.
633 General Luna St., Intramuros
1002 Manila
Philippines
(632)5272192

Read More »