THE Manila city government formally opened the Manila Film Festival under the theme ‘Manila in Me.’
Mayor Honey Lacuna thanked the participants composed of students from various universities and colleges mostly from Manila.
The festival, she said, showcases the talents of youngsters in film-making, noting that Manila is the ‘talent hub’ given the opportunity to develop their skills.
From full-length movies, the festival will now be featuring short films in the belief that this will better hone the skills of young filmmakers as this would enable them to express a subject with a limited time frame.
Lacuna said the logic behind having young filmmakers joining the festival lies on the belief that the youngsters are the country’s future.
The lady mayor said that with the project, the students’ talents will be showcased and Manila might well be on its way to becoming a possible ‘cinema center’ in the future.
Vice Mayor Yul Servo said that based on the request of the mayor and tourism chief Charlie Dungo, the Manila City Council which he heads will pass a measure that would make venues or sites that the filmmakers will use will be free of charge.
In additoon, Lacuna will also be giving grants to the eight filmmakers to help them defray the costs.
Dungo said that following the said theme, the mayor hopes to promote the city’s tourism by featuring the various tourist spots and attractions in the city through the film entries.
According to Dungo, the eight entries will be joined by four movies that will be made by featured directors whose films will also be shown during festival.
It was learned that from a total of 69 entries, the number of entries was narrowed down initially to 15 and eight made it to the final list.
The theme, according to the organizers, is not literally confined to Manila as it actually refers to the ‘Filipino in you, ‘ adding that when Manila is mentioned, the intepretation on top of mind is Manila.
The premier night will be on June 4 and the festival will run from June 5 to 11, 2024.
The ticket prices will be announced later and organizer Kreativden CEO Kaye Valenzuela announced that they will be made affordable to students.
