TANAUAN, BATANGAS, PHILIPPINES, JANUARY 19, 2022 — From the Batangas Forum for Good Governance and Development Association, Inc.  (BF), in partnership with the Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP), comes a series of online workshops on the foundational skills in filmmaking through the FDCP  Film Talks @ Doon Po Sa Amin Pride Campaign for all Saturdays of January 2022. 

The creative videography workshop series aiming to encourage the creation of worthwhile content through video productions highlighting Batangas’ culture and heritage commenced last January 8, 2022 and welcomed 120 participants to its initial session on visual storytelling. Majority of the selected participants are from the youth sector of Batangas,18 to 30 years of age.

The conclusion of the four-part virtual workshop is an invitation by the Batangas Forum for participants to produce short videos captured through mobile devices for a Festival of Short Videos to be held within this year. ​The coming festival is a key component of the organization's Doon Po Sa Amin Pride Campaign, an initiative to awaken the sense of pride of the people of Batangas through the production and dissemination of short videos that will showcase the many unique and distinguishing aspects of the culture and heritage of the province.

“The Doon Po Sa Amin Pride Campaign was also designed to uplift the morale of the Batangueños and send a message of positivity in the midst of these difficult times of the pandemic,” Batangas Forum President Mauro Barradas added. 

The pride campaign was the brainchild of Batangas Forum member Direk Leo Martinez,  a veteran actor, filmmaker, and icon of Batangas. It seeks to be a push in reigniting local cultural​ and heritage consciousness and appreciation. The partnership with the FDCP strengthens the core of the project by giving opportunities for the participants, especially the young students, ​to nurture and hone their creative talents by learning from industry experts.

The FDCP Film Talks @ Doon Po Sa Amin Pride Campaign have put together a line of award-winning speaker-mentors for the different sessions—John Carlo Pacala for Storytelling last January 8, Zig Dulay for Introduction to Directing last January 15, Anjanmar Rebeta for Basic Cinematography on January 22, and Ilsa Malsi for Basic Editing on January 29.

In his remarks during the opening session of the workshop, Direk Leo Martínez, the Chair of the Batangas Forum's Doon Po Sa Amin Pride Campaign Committee, expressed Batangas Forum's deep appreciation for the generosity of the FDCP in providing this free virtual workshop for the aspiring filmmakers and film practitioners from his home province, Batangas.

On her part, FDCP Chairperson and CEO Liza Diño noted that, “This initiative of Batangas Forum matches the thrusts of our agency which includes the promotion of culture and heritage through films, popularizing filmmaking in the regions, and conducting local and international cinema festivals, among many others. And we are just so delighted to work with BF to kickstart the year with this activity.”

Batangas Governor Hermilando Mandanas, in his keynote remarks at the event, warmly commended the FDCP and the Batangas Forum for the joint project and strongly encouraged the participants to take full advantage of the unique opportunity the workshop offers so that, with the knowledge that they will acquire, they may contribute to the upliftment of the culture and heritage of Batangas.

The final outputs of the creative videography workshop capturing the sources of pride of  Batangas will be showcased in the forthcoming short video festival to be organized this year by the Batangas Forum. These videos may also be used as promotion materials of the province and its towns and cities, and, in the long run, serve as records of the province’s culture and heritage for future generations. Further details will be shared through FDCP’s social media pages.