By Glazyl Y. Masculino
BACOLOD CITY – Ten finalists out of the 33 entries screened for the first Bacolod Film Festival were officially announced during a press conference at the lobby of the Bacolod City Government Center (BCGC) yesterday.
The finalists are Chelsea Tasic, Charlene Mae Tupas, Juan Carlo Miguel Araullo, Georgia Mari Elardo, Reginald Amador Zack Verzosa, Mary Pauline Santos, Rodolfo Hinolan Jr., Willbryan Garcia, Vincent Joseph Entuna, and Oscar Villanueva, all residents of Bacolod City.
Councilor Em Ang, co-chairperson of the Bacolod Film Festival Council, expressed happiness and pride that the Bacolod Film Festival has finally materialized.
“I am very happy and pleased to see young filmmakers among the 10 finalists. I am hopeful for the future of Bacolod’s creative industry,” Ang said.
Each grantee will receive P300,000 to fund and complete their films, according to Ang.
Themed “Stories with a Smile,” the film festival features the following short films:
– “A Flower A Day” directed by Tasic
– “Aninaw” by Tupas
– “Blind Date” by Araullo
– “Chicken Inasal” by Elardo
– “Glub” by Verzosa
– “Laragway sa Karon” by Santos
– “Manokan Country” by Hinolan
– “Puli Na, Diche Lesly” by Garcia
– “Sa Pwesto ni Pistong” by Entuna
– “The Mansion” by Villanueva
The grantees are expected to shoot their projects from June to August, with the completed films premiering at the Bacolod Film Festival in September at SM City Bacolod and Ayala Malls Capitol Central cinemas.
The films can be of any genre, including romance, drama, comedy, or horror, and must be in any Filipino language with English subtitles.
Festival Director Seymour Sanchez said they plan to send not just the best film but all entries to different film festivals, keeping the running time of the short films to 15 to 20 minutes.
Sanchez mentioned that the selection was made on a blind submission basis, meaning the committee did not know the names of those who submitted their screenplays.
The deadline for film submissions is August 15, while trailers and posters must be submitted by August 1 for promotional and marketing purposes.
The Bacolod Film Festival will also conduct various activities such as workshops, film screenings, and talkback sessions.
The film festival is in accordance with City Ordinance No. 1061, also known as the Bacolod Film Festival Ordinance, authored by Ang, along with Councilors Cindy Rojas and Celia Flor. The city government partnered with the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) for funding assistance, pursuant to Republic Act 11904, known as the Philippine Creative Industries Development Act.
