Pila pa rin ang mga nanonood ng sine sa mga malls hanggang noong Sabado at Linggo.
Mukhang maaabot ng Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF) ang target nilang P500 million.
At totoo, malaki ang naitulong ng mga awards na nakuha ng Ang Tanging Ina Mo Last Na ’To para mas panoorin pa ito.
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Karugtong ito ng lumabas kahapon tungkol sa mga plano ni Mr. Briccio Santos, chairman ng Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP).
Bukod sa National and Community Cinema, sinabi niya na ang national film archives arm ay isa sa pinakamahalagang mandates ng film council.
“This is the missing link. We have such brilliant films but they are not preserved properly for posterity. By establishing a national film archives, by honoring our past masters, and by giving today’s youth a solid sense of film history, we can achieve a lot towards the realization of a true national cinema, a Sineng Pambansa. Once we have a national film archives in place, everything else will follow,” sabi niya.
Binuksan ni Santos ang unang National Film Archives of the Philippines noong isang linggo na nilahukan ng mga kinatawan mula sa CCP, NCCA, MOWELFUND, University of the Philippines, PIA, NGOs katulad ng SOFIA, at broadcast networks.
Nagpanukala siya ng three-phase program para sa susunod na limang taon.
Sa unang phase, magbubukas ang FDCP ng clearing house sa bago nitong tanggapan sa Makati kung saan magtatayo ng limited archiving para sa priority films.
“Even if we consolidate all films from existing archiving institution into one, we will hardly make a dent,” paliwanag ni Mr. Santos.
“The bulk of our patrimony is still out there. We must build an institution that the copyright and stakeholders can trust. The repatriation of so many of our films from different countries such as France, United States, Thailand, Finland, etc. must begin the moment we have the proper facility for it. We must eventually bring them all home.”
Ang second phase ay ang permanent facility for storage. Kasalukuyan silang naghahanap sa Subic, Mount Makiling area at Baguio.
“At ang third and final phase is consolidation, and creation of a film library that will entail digitalization and finally a genuine Cinemateque,” sabi pa ng chairman.
Na-realize ni Mr. Santos nang manirahan siya sa Germany at France na: “Culture is a binding thing. It is at the core of our existence, our very identity, and over and above political and economic considerations.”
Kasama rin sa kanyang four-fold plan ang distribution ng films.
“How can we propagate our own films if they are not shown locally? The film must be appreciated in our own country as a pre-condition to being appreciated abroad,” sabi niya.
Nagsimula na siyang makipag-usap with stakeholders.
“If we don’t get our act together our film industry will die. Capital is like a river, without embankments and dikes, it will only benefit a few; but add the necessary embankments for water to flow freely and it will be enjoyed by all,” say pa ni Mr. Santos.
At sa nasabing recommendation, gusto ng chairman na gawing “superbody” ang FDCP.
Say niya, “With a ‘superbody’ we can start consolidating, enforcing a uniform policy and regulate more effectively these policies towards genuine reform in our audio-visual industry.”
Sinabi niya sa Korea (kung saan siya hinirang sa Pusan bilang vice chair ng Asian Film Commissioner’s Network), ang pagtangkilik sa local cinema ay mas mataas kesa sa international films dahil ang kanilang film commission ay localized.