The Bacolod Film Festival Council announced the 10 finalists for the Bacolod Film Festival in September at a press conference at the Bacolod City Government Center on Monday, June 10.
The grantees will receive P300,000 each, to fund and finish their films.
The 10 finalists are Chelsea Tasic (“A Flower A Day”), Charlene Mae Tupas (“Aninaw”), Juan Carlo Miguel Araullo (“Blind Date”), Georgia Mari Elardo (“Chicken Inasal”), Reginald Amador Zack Verzosa (“Glub”), Mary Pauline O. Santos (“Laragway sa Karon”), Banjo Hinolan (“Manokan Country”), Willbryan Garcia (“Puli Na, Diche Lesly”), Vincent Joseph Entuna (“Sa Pwesto ni Pistong”), and Oscar Villanueva (“The Mansion”).
Bacolod Councilor Em Ang said that this year the festival will have an appropriation of P6 million, with half of it to be used for the grants of the 10 filmmakers.
Ang said there were 33 scripts submitted for consideration and the Manila-based selection committee read the scripts through a blind submission.
“I have not read the scripts but I am very happy and pleased looking at them now as they are very young”, Ang said, adding “There is so much hope for the creative industry of Bacolod City”.
The press conference was attended by the finalists together with Ang, Local Economic Development and Investment Promotions Officer Dr. Frances Mae Llamas, Executive Assistant Marty Go, and BFF Director Seymour Sanchez.
Sanchez said that with the grant, each filmmaker will create a 15 to 20 minute short film which will be premiered during the film festival in September.
Of the 33 submissions, the 10 finalists were selected for their local flavor, alignment to the “stories with a smile” theme, concept and narrative voice, and screenplay structure and style, Sanchez said.
The grantees are expected to shoot their projects from June to August and premiere the completed films at the BFF in September at SM Bacolod and Ayala Capitol Central Cinemas.
Ang also said that apart from the film grants, there will be film workshops including script writing and film appreciation that will be conducted to develop the film community in Bacolod.*