Cinemanila goes for broke

Eat your heart out, you who wail that the government is folding its arms while local cinema is dying. Amable "Tikoy" Aguiluz has managed to pry open government’s seemingly clenched hands when it comes to helping the film industry.

The filmmaker (Boatman, Rizal sa Dapitan) behind the Cinemanila International Film Festival has found kindred spirits in government who are rallying behind him in the eighth edition of his annual event which kicks off Friday, Nov. 3.

This year, the Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP) is the lead agency. It will plunk in P2.5-M. FDCP vice-chair Christine Dayrit says, the agency will also serve as conduit of all kinds of information participating films will need.

The National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA), on the other hand, will give P500,000 cash, to be divided among festival winners. It will also set aside P300,000 in terms of services and provide office space for the seminars.

Other participating government agencies are the Education Department, which has pledged to expose students to the filmfest entries; the Tourism Department, the Finance Department, Foreign Affairs Department, the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board, TESDA and others.

The private sector will also join in. Cinemanila films will be shown at Ayala Theater’s Greenbelt 1, SM Mall of Asia, Megamall, North EDSA and Manila.

Ignite Media will award post-production services worth P800,000 for the winners while Seenema Concepts will give P800,000 in camera and post-production services.

The filmfest, which runs up to Nov. 15, features 75 full-length films from 35 countries, playing under sections like World Cinema, Young Cinema, Digital Lokal, Philippine Panorama and Sineng Pambata.

A Lino Brocka retrospective will be held on Nov. 3 to 15. Insiang and Tinimbang Ka Ngunit Kulang will be shown Nov. 13 and 14 at Greenbelt. Bona and Kapit sa Patalim will also be shown. A Brocka night, with the late director’s stars in attendance is set Nov. 9 at Greenbelt.

Another National Artist, Eddie Romero, will be feted on Nov. 7 at the Greenbelt Cinemas.

The Philippines’ bets in the competition level are Jeffrey Jeturian’s Kubrador and Lav Diaz’s Heremias, which will premiere in Boracay on Nov. 4 and serve as closing film on Nov. 15.

As usual, a Boracay co-production is in the works in partnership with the Hubert Bals Fund and the Cebu International Film School on Nov. 4 to 6 in Boracay. This year, the Rotterdam Filmfest is giving away a generous amount of $10,000 for the project. Bigfoot in Cebu is also pledging a cash incentive.

Awards night is on Nov. 11.

After Manila, Tikoy plans to bring the festival to other places like Davao, where our brothers down South can see it.

He has high hopes for Cinemanila, which he calls a "dress rehearsal for the 2007 filmfest."

"Someday," he says, "we can compare with international film festivals in Singapore, Hong Kong and other places."

Yes, we shall cross our fingers and hope that day will come for the good of our country.