The short film competition is open to international student filmmakers and invites submissions in four categories: Drama, Documentary, Animation and Experimental.
Submissions should be completed between 1st January 2017 to 15th June 2018.
Submission Deadline: 29th June 2018
For more details please visit: http://af.hkbu.edu.hk/gusff/
The UP Film Institute together with the Socialist Circle and with the Philippines-Cuba Cultural and Friendship Association (PhilCuba) hosted the free screenings of Cuban films from April 11-14, 2018 at the UPFI Film Center Videotheque, University of the Philippines Diliman. The screening was done in preparation for the Marx Festival 2018 this May. This is also in collaboration with the Embassy of the Republic of Cuba (Malaysia).
For many decades after the revolution, Cuba has been fighting against all odds to maintain its independence/sovereignty as a people/as a country despite the continued blockade imposed by the United States of America on this little island. Yet despite this, Cuba has exemplary shown, its successes in various facets – education/literacy, healthcare, sports and culture, etc.
For more information please visit, https://www.aprcsc.org/.
Ambassador of the Republic of Cuba Ibete Hernandez Fernandez gives remarks for the festival
L to R, Director Sari Ll Dalena of UP Film Institute, Ambassador of the Republic of Cuba Ibete Hernandez Fernandez, Ana Maria R. Nemenzo and Former UP President Dodong Nemenzo and Former Chair of PhilCuba.
Robert M. Corpuz, Antonio E. Paris,Ambassador of the Republic of Cuba Ibete Hernandez Fernandez and Irma M. Llorera,Karl Vladimir
Atty Gabby Concepcion gives a short speech in behalf of the UP President Danilo Concepcion
Corazon Fabros presents Director Sari Dalena with the booklet
Front cover of the booklet
The UP Film Institute congratulates lecturer Ms. Baby Ruth Villarama for being awarded the Social Impact award from Birmingham City University.
For more details, go to this link https://www.britishcouncil.org/alumni-award-winners-2017-2018
By Sari Lluch Dalena
“How come women are strong in Philippine cinema?” a journalist from Osaka asked during a panel on Women in Philippine Cinema last week, where I sat with fellow filmmakers Sigrid Andrea Bernardo, Antoinette Jadaone, actress Ryza Cenon, and FDCP chair Liza Diño. It was a special panel program on women held during the Osaka Asian Film Festival, giving a spotlight on 100 Years of Philippine Cinema this year.
In the last five years there seems to be a significant rise of women making movies in the realm of independent film production. It is a good sign that slowly, glass ceilings are being shattered, but you’ll be surprised when we examine the math showing gender inequality in Philippine cinema:
GENDER IN CINEMA
As we celebrate the 100th year of Philippine cinema, we are bursting with women doing amazing work as producers, cinematographers, screenwriters, and editors, yet there is a gross underrepresentation of women in the director’s chair.
Even in the world of academe, new blood of women film scholars in cinema is lacking. There is also a huge gender disparity in the field of film criticism—males vastly outnumber females in criticism, film selection committees, and jury compositions. These fields remain overwhelmingly dominated by males.
And yes, a hundred years into our cinematic history, there are zero women in the roster of National Artists for Cinema.
This is stunningly ironic. At the UP Film Institute, female students have consistently outnumbered the male students in film studies in the last 20 years. And yet, aspiring female directors face more barriers and lack of opportunities to direct films.
Filmmaker Pam Miras muses, “Personally, I think an equal ratio of films by men and women would take some time to achieve, but it’s not what’s important. What’s important is to create an atmosphere of openness and respect in this industry. To decrease if not totally eradicate discrimination because of factors that have nothing to do with one’s skill in making films—like sex or gender, or regional background, or age, or economic background. And then there is the issue of sexual harassment. We cannot immediately do away with the preference of some for hiring male directors, cinematographers, etc. That took many years and, even in 2018, women in such positions still go through a lot to gain the respect and trust of a 100 percent male technical crew, and even among their male peers. They usually need to be “anointed” by a respected man with the same film role. But I think the Philippine film industry is getting there.”
HISTORICAL CONTEXT
Women have been present in key creative roles as early as 1912, when two Americans produced the first full-length film, La Vida de Rizal (Life of Dr. Jose Rizal), the wife of one of the producers, Edward Meyer Gross was zarzuela actress Titay Molina—who, as a director of zarzuelas, might have also had a strong creative hand in producing that first locally produced feature-length film in the country.
Even in those early years we had strong female characters such as Nena, La Boxeadora, played by Maria Tronqued, whose titular character fought in a boxing ring and won to win the prize that would save her from slavery.
Film director Ellen Ongkeko-Marfil reflects, “Such a celebration of Filipina talent might not have been possible if not for our pioneering filmmakers. We’ve listed the likes of Carmen Concha, Consuelo ‘Ateng’ Osorio, Maria Saret, and Rosa Mia, who paved the way for many “firsts” in our 100-year-old cinema. These women broke stereotypes by directing films that were thought to be “macho” and for male directors only. Some of their works presented women in their unglamorized selves—raw, struggling, real.”
The next decades would bring about powerful female producers like LVN’s Narcisa Buencamino-de León also known as Doña Sisang and Regal Films’ Mother Lily Monteverde.
Ironically, despite being in a position of influence, “they, too, are sucked into a chauvinist system that is hostile toward the expression of feminism… All these in order to regain capital and produce profit.” (Nick Deocampo).
“The escape that Doña Sisang brought to Philippine cinema is probably responsible for the heavy escapist hangover that local films still carry at present. She preferred happy stories… She did not like stories that reminded the audiences of their misery.” (Nestor Torre)
“Mother Lily has been responsible for a series of movies that capitalized largely on women who could bare themselves on screen, possessed juvenile fantasies, and had martyr characters.” (Nick Deocampo)
Despite that state of affairs, it was still female directors through the decades such as Carmen Concha, Lupita Aquino-Kashiwahara, Marilou Diaz-Abaya, and Laurice Guillen who challenged the status quo along with scriptwriters Susana de Guzman, Marina Feleo-Gonzales, and Lualhati Bautista.
“In the early years, our cinema generally subscribed to the typical, maybe patriarchal, view of women. As far as my exposure goes, it was Marilou Diaz-Abaya who first challenged the image, status, and condition of women on celluloid through her films Moral, Brutal, Karnal, and Milagros,” Ongkeko-Marfil says of the late director Abaya.
“Many women after Doña Sisang have been running the show,” says producer Coreen “Monster” Jimenez, the one behind the Cinemalaya hit Respeto, “and yet why is it I feel that our stories are still underrepresented?”
“I think the reason there appears to be a representation problem is that we don’t have a female Brocka or Bernal or Mike De Leon,” says director Miras. “We don’t have a female Lav Diaz or Brillante Mendoza, or a female Ricky Lee or Bing Lao. The face is Philippine cinema is still male. The predominant image of the Filipino woman is still one thought up by males.”
DOMINATING DOCUMENTARY FILMMAKING
Perhaps the one filmmaking space that women clearly dominate is in the realm of documentaries. Ditsi Carolino’s films on impoverished slum dwellers, incarcerated children, and farmers, Ramona Diaz’s latest film on motherhood, and Kara Magsanoc’s definitive documentary on Martial Law and the inclusion of the first ever documentary film in the 2016 Metro Manila Film Festival, directed by Babyruth Villarama-Gutierrez, touching on the plight of OFWs in Hong Kong, which was also the first documentary to win the coveted festival’s Best Picture prize, show the spectrum that female directors explore.
Filmmaker Ongkeko-Marfil hopes that women will “make the woman’s perspective—visible, whatever the subject matter—confront the dominant stereotypical view.”
Another aspect of perspectives is that many of these influential women filmmakers hail from the urban middle and upper class. What about the view from the regions outside of Metro Manila? Through initiatives of new grant-giving bodies and even the advent of digital technologies, this norm is also being challenged.
Cebu-based director Ara Chawdhury muses, “the democratization of the practice has allowed a new generation of women artists to embrace the medium and transform how it is created and received in the country. In Cebu, female producers such as Tessa Villegas, Jiji Borlasa, and Bianca Balbuena have revived Cebuano cinema by supporting visionaries such as Remton Siega Zuasola. I also believe that there is a huge opportunity to contribute to the country’s cinematic texture.” This extends even to experimental film where “filmmakers such as Martha Atienza, Kiri Dalena, and Shireen Seno have redefined the way films are created and received in the country.”
THE NEXT 100 YEARS
Assessing the current state of filmmaking, producer Jimenez reflects, “If there is anything I learned in being part of the movie ecosystem, it’s that we need to be in places where our voices will be heard. We need more women writers and directors who would be able to put a piece of themselves in the creation. Our role as storytellers is very important, because movies reflect our narrative as a society.”
This recent encounter with the Japanese journalist in Osaka also shows that, despite their modernity, some of our neighboring countries are in awe of the power of our Filipina filmmakers, who are not just surviving, but flourishing in such a competitive field. Best represented by our longtime “Box Office Queens” Joyce Bernal and Cathy Garcia-Molina to the current queens of a younger generation, Antoinette Jadaone and Sigrid Andrea Bernardo, who are breaking records at the tills.
Film director Jadaone warmly shares, “I think our films will tell more stories on the strength of women, because our industry is in good hands—the FDCP chair is a woman, the MTRCB chair is a woman, the director of the UP Film Institute, the country’s premier film school, is a woman, and the highest grossing independent film is directed by a woman!”
Perhaps director Bernardo’s optimistic view gives the best hope for the future, “I am proud to be a Filipina filmmaker because our industry does not discriminate against being a woman. Our works speak for themselves. We don’t judge based on the gender of a filmmaker. It is this way now because of the brave women who fought for their craft in this male dominated industry in the past. I hope that more women will be inspired to become whatever they want to be.”
Dear Film Schools, Academies, Universities and the likes!
We are eagerly waiting for you to submit to our festival.
Our call is open until April 24th 2018.
We accept short films, short docs, short experimental, short animation …
We accept basically everything shorter than 25 minutes!
NO FEES! You can submit everything for free.
Please tell your students!
We want to review their works and give them a chance to win
€ 1500.- BEST SHORT FILM
€ 1000.- BEST REGIONAL FILM (from Lower Austria)
€ ?????.- AUDIENCE AWARD
Send everything through http://www.frontale.at/en
We’re located in Austria, Europe and the festval date is set in the latter half of November 2018.
THANK YOU!
Stefan & Elena
For more Information please visit : International FRONTALE Film Festival
frontale@wiener-neustadt.at
http://www.frontale.at
http://www.facebook.com/frontalewn
Disembarking in Manila for the first time is the much-awaited movie of every sci-fi avid fan’s dream –Ikarie XB-1. This excellent 1963 Czech saga directed by Jindřich Polák was one of the solid inspirations that precedes and foreshadows a number of internationally famous space-genre works, with Star Trek, among some of them.
In Gene Roddenberry’s blockbuster billion-dollar Star Trek franchise, the audience can surely note more than a few trace elements of Ikarie XB-1. Although, it can be argued that “nobody has yet found the smoking gun that proves Roddenberry watched Ikarie XB-1, at best, nobody can really say he did not,” says Czech Ambassador Jaroslav Olša, jr., himself a science fiction aficionado and notes, that Ikarie XB-1 “had seen its US release in 1963 in a dubbed version and under the title Journey to the End of the Universe.” The parallels emerge primarily from the story about a large starship that functions as a small inhabitable world – with corridors, living quarters, recreation areas and dining rooms – that is on a mission to explore new worlds and new life. The similarities of Star Trek and Ikarie XB-1 are undeniable, as seen in the futuristic interior of the ship looking like an abstract art gallery with food synthesizers and engine rooms and a computer voice dominating the ships’ command.
Based on the novel of Polish writer Stanisław Lem, The Magellanic Cloud (1955), the plot is set in the year 2163 aboard a spaceship named Ikarie XB-1 bound for the distant star of Alpha Centauri, where no one has gone before. Scientists believed this star is capable of supporting life, thus a forty or so mixed gender crew –which is remarkable during the time of the film’s release –goes on another-worldly exploration. In the midst of their journey, they encounter an abandoned alien ship and things begin to spiral out of control from there on. Essentially, Ikarie XB-1 is broken down into four long episodes with different storylines contained in one big continuous “umbrella” plot.
As you absorb the imagery of Ikarie XB-1, you may detect a note of uncanny familiarity not only with Gene Roddenberry´s Star Trek, but also Stanley Kubrick´s 2001: A Space Odyssey as Kubrick is known to have watched the film in English several times while researching his 2001 project with Arthur C. Clarke.
Ikarie XB-1 is a genuine achievement on a number of fronts with its avant-garde production design, special effects and engaging characters especially for its time. Shot in black-and-white displaying dramatic light and shadow effects, its cinematography by Jan Kališ is striking within depth along with Zdeněk Liška´s moody electronic score that set the film’s hypnotic pacing with feelings of isolation, mystery, and dread.
The 2:35 widescreen remastered version of Ikarie XB-1, which became part of the Cannes Film Festival 2016 line-up, will be shown at the Cinematheque Centre Manila on April 11 at 6:30 in the evening, once again as part of the yearlong Czech Movie Gems’ special feature. The film will be introduced to the viewing public by none other than Czech Ambassador to the Philippines, Jaroslav Olša, jr., a life-long science fiction fan and the author of Czech-language Encyclopedia of Science Fiction.
The UP Film Institute congratulates UPFI alumna Wena Sanchez (All Grown Up) for being chosen as one of the Documentary Post Production Grantees for the QCinema International Film Festival 2018.
Again, congratulations Wena Sanchez!
Rationale
The reconfiguration of social, cultural, economic and political relationships in parallel with the pervasive application of digital technologies has been regarded as an epochal shift in the Western world. In contemporary Asia, the breathtaking rapidity and scale of digitisation provides us with an even greater remaking and reinvigorating of human relationships. This is an era where rapid commercial growth across the region proceeds in tandem with the spread of digital media devices.
For ordinary people, social media platforms offer new economic opportunities along with the monetisation of the personal and the everyday. In the public domain, Asian state systems are having to contend with explosions of popular expression, public debate and political mobilisation, even as these activities are highly contested and contestable. Asian markets are increasingly determined by flows of virtual capital, information commodities, consumers and labour. In this context, it is increasingly evident that the rise of a Digital Asia is accompanied by new aspirations and understandings of modernisation, participation and development.
This conference considers the instances and processes through which new sets of social, economic and political transactions are being established between citizens and states, markets and publics, cultures and commodities in a Digital Asia.
The conference, to be held from October 10-12, 2018 at the campus of De La Salle University in Manila, is co-hosted by the Institute for Advanced Studies in the Humanities, University of Queensland and the Department of Communication, De La Salle University in Manila.
The conference will include two full days of presentations for a public audience 10-11th October, followed by a research workshop for paper presenters on 12th October.
Given the inter- and trans-disciplinary nature of its theme, the conference is intended to be of interest to researchers from a diverse variety of backgrounds and disciplinary orientations in the Humanities and Social Sciences. We will also consider submissions of creative and technical works, along with professional contributions from industry and non-governmental organisations.
We are currently inviting abstract submissions (500 words) addressing the following themes:
A limited number of bursaries covering economy air travel and accommodation for the duration of the event are available on a competitive basis for paper presenters working at institutions within the ASEAN region. If you wish to be considered for a bursary, please indicate your interest and affiliation in your abstract submission. We will subsequently contact you regarding the bursary selection process that will occur in June 2018.
For all selected participants, a final paper of 6,000 words will be requested by 31 July 2018 for review in the SAGE journal Media International Australia and for inclusion in an edited volume with a major international publisher. For further enquiries and for the submission of abstracts, please contact the conference organising committee.
The conference will be held in the campus of De La Salle University (DLSU) in Manila. De La Salle University positions itself as a learner-centered and research institution of higher learning active in community engagement. The university serves as a significant resource for the Philippines by developing leaders and achievers in business, public service, education, science and technology, and the arts. Taking on the challenges of a global society, DLSU actively collaborates with international partner institutions such as the ASEAN University Network, of which it is a founding member. DLSU is the first university in the region to be conferred by the said body the Quality Mark at the Institutional Level. Nestled in the heart of Manila, De La Salle University is situated in a historic city with a vibrant culture and diversity.
The Institute for Advanced Studies in the Humanities (IASH) at the University of Queensland is dedicated to high level research with a focus on Intellectual and Literary History, Critical and Cultural Studies, the History of Emotions and Science and Society. The Critical and Cultural Studies programme examines the role of culture within processes of social change, both as a means of expression and as a central motivation for human actions. We undertake critical enquiries that examine new forms of technology, the significance of cultural differences and the relationship between cultural identities and the experience of everyday life. Our research on media technologies and social change seeks to explore new areas of interaction between academic expertise and the public. Our focus on the experiences of ordinary people has inspired substantive studies of youth, gender and social inclusion in Australia. CCS has also made a long term commitment to developing Cultural Studies research in Asia, with innovative work in China, Japan and India being prominent examples of our research partnerships in the region.
The Department of Communication of De La Salle University aims to be a community of reflective, innovative and strategic communicators driving sustainable and inclusive change. Part of DLSU’s College of Liberal Arts, we bring together the humanities and the social sciences with our three academic programs and research areas: Communication Arts, Organizational Communication, and (Applied) Media Studies. Our programs provide a balance of theory and practice, preparing students to work as communication leaders and ethical media professionals.Our Faculty and students engage in research and creative media projects that examine the role of communication and media in everyday social and political processes and dynamics. Our Faculty, composed of academics and industry practitioners, are involved in diverse research streams: new media and social change, health communication, environmental communication, digital labor, organizational communication, queer media studies, journalism, media literacy, film/media criticism, and public relations. Some of our Faculty are celebrated industry professionals: filmmakers, journalists, public relations practitioners, writers, designers, and film/television/digital media producers.
In order to provide a platform to all aspiring an opportunity to expose their fresh talents, the 2018 Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF) has launched a school based Short Film Competition. It is a nationwide competition for students to encourage the youth to harness their creativity and talents in storytelling through film making.
Winning entries will be shown in cinemas together with the full-length official entries during the festival period from December 25, 2018 to January 7, 2019 and will be awarded prizes.
In this regard, we earnestly seek your school’s support in disseminating information on the competition to your students and encourage them to join and participate in the 2018 MMFF Short Film Competition. Attached herewith is the calendar of events for the said competition. You may download the forms in the MMFF official Facebook page.
Further to our invitation to your students to join the Short Film Competition, please be informed that we will also be conducting workshops to give student filmmakers the opportunity to learn from distinguished names in the film industry. We will update your school on the schedule of the said workshops.
For more information, you may contact Atty. Rochelle T. Macapili, MMFF Deputy Executive Director for Operations, at 0917-8862678.
We look forward to your support and participation to this endeavor.
Thank you and our warmest regards.
Sincerely,
BY AUTHORITY OF:
DANILO DELAPUZ LIM Chairman
BY:
USEC. THOMAS M. ORBOS
Executive Chairman
FESTIVAL CALENDAR
| Deadline for Submission of the Letter of Intent | Not later than 5pm of April 30, [1] |
| Deadline for Submission of Script | Not later than 5pm of June 15, 2018 |
| Deliberation of Shorts Selection Committee | June 18-29, 2018 |
| Announcement of Sixteen (16) Selected Scripts | July 2, 2018 |
| Workshop of Selected Scripts | Between July 9 and July 23, 2018 |
| Deadline for Submission of Finished Film | Not later than 5pm of September 28, 2018 |
| Viewing and Deliberation of the Selection Committee | October 15-18 , 2018 |
| Announcement of the eight (8) official entries | October 19,2018 |
| Submission of MTRCB Ratings | Not applicable but must be in PG Rating |
| Submission of:
-Certificate from cinemas that the required movie trailers have been submitted -5 Posters -3 DVDs including the poster design and layout per official entry |
Not later than 5pm of November IS, 2018 |
| Pairing of the 8 official main and short entries | November 5, 2018 |
| Submission of Certification that DCP film for theatres are available | c/o Main Feature |
| Board of Jurors Screening of the finished Products | December 15-22, 2018 |
| Parade of Stars | Not applicable |
| Showing of Official Entries | December 25, 2018 January 7, 2019 |
| Awards Night | December 27, 2018 |
