One-stop-shop for foreign filmmakers

By Marinel Cruz
Philippine Daily Inquirer
Last updated 10:54pm (Mla time) 11/14/2007

MANILA, Philippines - The local independent movie scene continues to thrive and flourish.

Low-budget Pinoy films keep winning awards and getting rave reviews abroad; filmmakers earn grants from foreign-based financiers; and production outfits are always on the lookout for fresh Filipino talents through casting calls.

The government wants to help the movement and the mainstream industry as well by promoting the Philippines as an attractive film site. Last week, Malacañang issued a presidential executive order for the creation of the Philippine Film Export Services Office.

According to the newly signed Executive Order 674, the Export Services Group (ESG) "shall facilitate the institutionalization of a one-stop-shop system for foreign film and television productions."

Direct link

Aside from pitching the Philippines as a location site, the ESG will provide a direct link between foreign film producers and local artists, technical crew and facilities.

The agency is under the "administrative and technical supervision" of the Film Development Council, headed by Jacky Atienza. It shall be composed of an executive director and representatives from the departments of Tourism, Trade and Industry, Interior and Local Government, National Defense, the bureaus of Customs, Internal Revenue, Immigration, as well as from the Cinema Evaluation Board, Film Academy of the Philippines and the private sector, specifically from the movie and TV industries.

The ESG's chair is film producer Digna Santiago. Its first task was to join President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo at the recent business forum in India, where a Bollywood film producer has committed to shoot a film in the Philippines in December.

The ESG will also serve at the country's link to the Asian Film Commission Network (AFCNet), an association that aims to attract film productions to come to Asia. The ESG represented the country at the AFCNet launch in Pusan, South Korea in October.

'Signos'

Alfred Aloysius Adlawan's "Signos" bagged the Best Foreign Film Award in the 1st Lone Star International Film Festival held in Fort Worth, Texas from Nov. 7 to 11.

This is the first festival that "Signos" joined after its local release in August. The horror-drama film that tackles estrangement and going back to one's roots features Luis Alandy, Irma Adlawan, Ricky Davao, Nancy Castiglione and Chx Alcala.

"We didn't expect to win any award because the event wasn't a horror-fest," Adlawan told Inquirer Entertainment on Monday.

Chicago film festival

Meanwhile, the 4th Chicago Filipino American Film Festival was held from Nov. 9 to 11 at the Chopin Theater. It featured a total of 10 films―full-length features, music videos and documentaries, according to its website http://www.cfaff.org.

The Chicago Filipino American Film Festival was created in 2003 by the Filipino American Network (FAN). It aims to provide an opportunity for Filipino and Filipino-American directors, writers and actors in Chicago to showcase their works.

'Tirador (Slingshot)'

Brillante Mendoza's "Tirador" ("Slingshot") continues to get rave reviews from influential industry figures, most recently from Toronto International Film Festival programmer Cameron Bailey, who said the movie shows the director's "rapidly maturing abilities with digital cinema."

"Tirador," featuring Jiro Manio, Kristoffer King, Coco Martin, Nathan Lopez and Jaclyn Jose, had its world premiere at the Toronto IFF in September.

"This is a fiction film, but Mendoza's impressive skill is to impose a calculated narrative onto Manila's constant unpredictability, shaping its ground-level chaos into art," Bailey said in his essay.

'Independencia'

Raya Martin ("Autohystoria") made history as the only Filipino on this season's list of 28 winners to win a Hubert Balls Fund (HBF) from the International Film Festival of Rotterdam (IFFR).

Martin's film "Independencia," set against a backdrop of the American occupation of the Philippines in the early 20th century, won in the Script Development Category of the HBF, according to a statement from the IFFR.

Martin received his first IFFR grant or the Prince Claus Fund, amounting to 15,000 euros (P960,000), for his film "Independencia" as part of the 46 CineMart Projects 2007. The film was even chosen as the Best CineMart Project of 2007.

Arkeofilms

Arkeofilms, the independent film production company behind Mario Cornejo's and Moster Jimenez's "Big Time," is looking for actors for a short film adaptation of scriptwriter Butch Dalisay's story.

Auditions are being held from Nov. 10 to Dec. 1 for the roles of Sammy, a street-smart boy; Felipe, the smooth-talking single father; Connie, the strong-willed and poised school principal; Mr. Manalo, the rich businessman; and Julie, a young nurse grief-stricken by the loss of a beloved patient.