The City of Manila, represented by Mayor Honey Lacuna, and its concept and implementation partner, ARTCORE Productions, Inc., formalized its project, ‘The Manila Film Festival (TMFF)’, with the signing of their Memorandum of Agreement on February 10, 2023 at the Bulwagang Villegas in Manila City Hall.Lacuna was joined by Vice Mayor Yul Servo and Secretary to the Mayor Marlon Lacson.
As such, Lacuna said the Manila Film Festival would be a key component of the annual Araw ng Maynila celebrations in June.
Tourism bureau chief Charlie Dungo said the TMFF will run for at least one week.
“The schedule is still a work in progress but we are hoping to start the regular screenings on a Friday or Saturday (June 16 or 17), the premiere night on a Wednesday (June 14), and the judges’ screenings on Thursday to Saturday (June 15 to 17),” Dungo said.
According to him, TMFF feature films to be screened shall be the result of a student film grants competition because the TMFF is a search for the next generation of young Filipino filmmakers. TMFF is part of the legacy of the City of Manila to the future.
TMFF is open to films by young Filipino filmmakers from all over the country because the Call for Original Feature Film Screenplays shall be open to senior high school and college students nationwide. The call for screenplay submissions will be issued after the Launch. Other details will be contained in the call for screenplay submissions.
Eight films will be chosen for the public screening and competition proper. The eight films’ authors retain intellectual property rights and share them with the City of Manila and FST ARTCORE. The authors do not lose their IPR. Each of the eight teams will be assigned a TMFF Mentor who will guide and advise.
The TMFF will ask the Department of Education and the Commission on Higher Education to support this important arts and culture project of the City of Manila with concept and implementing partner, ARTCORE Productions, Inc.
TMFF is working on having an online streaming screening of the TMFF entries. TMFF will have the support also of universities and colleges, as well as senior high schools. These schools may nominate entries to the TMFF and extend support to the production teams creating the films to be submitted.
TMFF will also mobilize support from among the theater owners and community leaders here in Manila, the rest of Manila and the Department of the Interior and Local Government, added Dungo. (JERRY S. TAN)
