University of the Philippines Film Institute

At the forefront of Filipino film education, practice, and scholarship

The UP Film Institute of the premiere state university is the only internationally-accredited academic institution in the country offering film courses for both undergraduate and master’s degrees. It is attached to the UP College of Mass Communication. Established in March 2003 by the UP Board of Regents, the UPFI merges two units: the former UP Film Center and the Film and Audiovisual Communication Department of the UP College of Mass Communication.

The UPFI’s academic programs aim to contribute to the development of genuinely Filipino national cinema by producing graduates with a well-rounded liberal arts education as well as creative and technical skills and a keen sense of social responsibility. It seeks to instill increased professionalization in Philippine film practice and upgrade local film scholarship.

The BA Film program, which started in 1984, is still the only one in the Philippines that offers a holistic approach to the art and scholarship of film. Leaders in the local mainstream film and media, advertising, television, public information and relations, and corporate communications are graduates of this program.

The MA Media Studies - Film Program, started in 2004, focuses on the study of film vis-á-vis the increasingly urgent issues of globalization and new media technologies, as it provides Filipino scholars with a means of closely inspecting and evaluating film as a complex social, cultural and economic phenomenon.

The UPFI also operates the Cine Adarna, an 800-seat university cinema that screens quality films free from censorship and programmed for purposes of varied studies and broadened appreciation of cinematic arts.

The Cine Adarna, a veritable art cinema unique in the whole country showing different film titles every day, lines up distinctive programs the whole year round.

The theater is also a regular venue for various international film programs designed by different embassies and other cultural institutions.

Under its Extension Program, the UPFI conducts regular workshops, seminars, exhibits and other film-related events and activities under the university’s mandate to promote film literacy and appreciation in the country and as a supplement to institute’s academic and research thrusts.

The UPFI is the only academic institution in the country that is a member of CILECT, the International Association of Film and Television Schools.

ROSTER OF UP FILM INSTITUTE DEPARTMENT CHAIRS AND DIRECTORS

UP Department of Film and Audio-Visual Chairs

Dr. Grace J. Alfonso
Prof. Cris Vertido
Dr. Ellen Paglinauan
Dr. Arminda Santiago

UP Film Center Directors (1976-2003)

Prof. Virginia R. Moreno (1976-1989)
Dr. Bienvenido Lumbera (1989-1992)
Dr. Delia R. Barcelona (1992-1994)
Prof. Luis V. Teodoro (1994-2000)
Dr. Elizabeth L. Enriquez/Atty. Victor C. Avecilla (2000-2002)

UP Film Institute Directors (2003 to date)

Dr. Jose H. S. David (2003-2004)
Dr. Rolando B. Tolentino (2004-2005)
Prof. Anne Marie G. de Guzman (2005-2009)
Prof. Eduardo J. Lejano Jr. (2009-2012)
Prof. Roehl L. Jamon (2012-2015)
Prof. Sari Raissa L. Dalena (2015 to 2018)
Prof. Patrick F. Campos (2018 to 2021)
Prof. Robert Rownd (2021 to present)