Philippine Cinema kicked off 2021 with a bang. The strong drive to create Filipino films has surely overpowered the bleakness of the pandemic. Amid and despite the Covid-19 situation, Filipino talents continue to make their mark internationally, fueled by their passion, artistry and determination.

We may be just three weeks into January, but we have already received a lot of great news about Filipino films, projects, and filmmakers.

The industry welcomed 2021 by celebrating another win of “A Thousand Cuts” by Ramona Diaz. On January 11, it was hailed as the Best Documentary, tied with “Time” by Garret Bradley, at the 30th Independent Filmmaker Project (IFP) Gotham Awards in New York City.

A winning precedent

The many triumphs of Philippine Cinema in 2020 were tackled in a couple of my columns last year, and these provided much-needed inspiration and motivation for the industry struggling to survive the Covid-19 crisis. Fortunately, the wins and official selections of Filipino films and projects continued throughout the year.

Before 2020 ended, “Whether the Weather is Fine” by Carlo Francisco Manatad received another international grant. It was awarded the Doha Fall 2020 Grant for Feature Narrative – Post-Production by the Doha Film Institute Grants Program.

“Whether the Weather is Fine” is Manatad’s ode to his hometown of Tacloban in Leyte, which was devastated by Super Typhoon Yolanda (international name Haiyan) in 2013. Among the film’s grants is the Production Funding from the World Cinema Fund of the Berlin International Film Festival (Berlinale).

From Zamboanga to the world

The lucky streak of Philippine Cinema thankfully carried on this year.

“Cangrejos” by Zurich Chan and produced by Gale Osorio is among the 29 selected projects for the Hong Kong-Asia Film Financing Forum (HAF) 2021, regarded as Asia’s premier film financing platform. Last year, “Cangrejos” participated in the 4th Southeast Asia Fiction Film Lab (SEAFIC), a pioneering script and development lab dedicated to supporting Southeast Asian filmmakers.

“Cangrejos” is a project of the 1st Southern Voices Film Lab (Sovolab) of the Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP). Sovolab is an intensive script and development lab for Mindanaoan filmmakers, which aims to discover stories from the South and empower the voices of Mindanao.

The project, with its title meaning “crabs” in Chavacano, is about an emerging turmoil in a village as it faces insurgent activity. From Sovolab to SEAFIC to HAF, it has been a remarkable run so far for “Cangrejos.” I am so proud of how it is branching out from Zamboanga to the rest of the world.

It is really little triumphs such as this that remind me and the FDCP team why we do what we do in the national film agency. It is inspiring and rejuvenating to see filmmakers thrive and succeed, and to somehow be part of their journey.

Ready for Rotterdam

Two up-and-coming female producers are set to represent the Philippines in the 21st Rotterdam Lab of the 50th International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) in the Netherlands from January 25 to February 5.

The FDCP selected April Batican of Epicmedia Productions and Julienne Ilagan of Blackfish Productions to join the online Rotterdam Lab that offers training and networking to emerging producers from around the globe.

Batican is producing “Purple Sun” by Carlo Enciso Catu, “Bula sa Langit” by Sheenly Gener, and “Tupada” by Joy Aquino. “Purple Sun,” which was part of Full Circle Lab 2019 and FDCP Project Market 2019, is also being produced by Taro Imai and Bianca Balbuena.

Ilagan’s current projects include “Beneath the Multicolored Summer Sky” for which she is the writer and producer, “Let Her Die Slowly” by Joe Bacus wherein she is the producer, and Sovolab finalist “Virgins of the River” as the director, writer, and producer.

As for the online Young Film Critics 2021 trainee program of the IFFR, Jason Tan Liwag is the only Asian among the six selected international emerging critics. Liwag, who is the president of Cine Critico Filipino, is a film critic, scientist, actor, and cultural writer who began doing film criticism through the Cinelab workshops of Cinema Centenario.

Lastly, “Hyacinth and the Tangled Tales of a Boatman” by Bagane Fiola made it to the Script and Project Development: Voices Selection of the IFFR’s Hubert Bals Fund, a curatorial fund that supports filmmakers from Asia, the Middle East, Africa, Latin America, and parts of Eastern Europe.

Bustling about Berlinale

One of the FDCP’s first major projects of the year is Berlinale, with its 71st edition happening in March. The Philippines continues to make its mark in this A-List international film festival by being part of several selections.

Two Filipino projects are in the Berlinale Talent Project Market 2021: “Tropical Gothic’’ by Isabel Sandoval and “6th Finger” by Sheron Dayoc. The latter is a project from Full Circle Lab Philippines 2020, a development program organized by the FDCP in partnership with Full Circle Lab International.

In the Berlinale Talents training program, three out of the 200 participants will represent the Philippines. These are producer Alemberg Ang, editor and producer Cyril Bautista, and actor and director Sheenly Gener. The talents for the 2021 edition, chosen from a pool of 3,000 applicants, come from 65 countries.

As Philippine Cinema continues to take strides in order to become more competitive globally, we at the FDCP commit our support for the industry by cheering on, backing, and providing assistance for Filipino filmmakers. I am certainly looking forward to more good news about Filipino films and talents on the world stage. Padayon!

Notes from the Chair is part of the Arts Awake section of The Sunday Times Magazine published by The Manila Times. Click HERE to view the article on The Manila Times website.