Laurice Guillen, CCP president replace Liza Diño at MMFF execom

MANILA, Philippines — Award-winning director Laurice Guillen and producer Nick Lizaso replaced Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP) chairman Liza Diño as new members of the Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF) executive committee.

“Metropolitan Manila Development Authority and concurrent Metro Manila Film Festival Chairman Danilo Lim, who is the sole authority under the MMFF law to appoint members of the MMFF Executive Committee (Execom), announced the appointment of two new additions to the Execom to represent their sectors and organizations: LAURICE GUILLEN & NICK LIZASO," the MMFF execom said in a statement. 

Lizaso is a renowned actor, director and producer, working for more than 60 years in theater, television and film. He is currently the president of the Cultural Center of the Philippines and Chair of the National Commision on Culture and the Arts.

Guillen was the very first chairman of the FDCP and currently the president of the Cinemalaya Foundation Inc.

"The Cinemalaya has mutated through the years. It’s now moving toward mainstream, not for the big bucks but because it wants to reach a wider audience. It's not a very distant possibility for the MMFF to mutate, too, for it to come up with films that are well-told and well-executed," she told the press in a virtual conference following her appointment.

"The appointment of Director Guillen in the MMFF execom will start a more fruitful collaboration between MMFF and Cinemalaya," said Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) chairman Danilo Lim.

Lim is excited for this development as he believes in the integrity and wisdom of the two new members. 

"Their track record speaks for themselves."

Guillen and Lizaso's appointment came after MMDA, which manages and executes the MMFF, posted on Facebook an FDCP proposal to the Office of the President to request for MMFF's two-week run in theaters and for the festival's "reconstitution" for the festival's improvement. 

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