Nine filmmakers who will compete in the third Bacolod Film Festival were formally presented during a press conference at the Bacolod City Government Center on Monday, Sept. 7.
The festival will run from Nov. 27 to 29 under the theme “Pag-angot: Celebrating Heritage, Shaping the Future,” with this year’s edition focusing on rediscovering and preserving Bacolod’s heritage amid the city’s rapid development.
Bacolod Film Festival Director Tanya Lopez said the theme was developed alongside growing national and local efforts on cultural mapping and heritage documentation.
“It is high time that we rediscover what Bacolod is and what our heritage is,” Lopez said.
She said the theme is particularly timely as Bacolod undergoes significant development, stressing the importance of documenting and preserving aspects of the city’s identity before they are altered or lost.
The nine films selected for this year’s festival are “Be ’Ware of Dog” by Rolf Dubouzet Baynosa, “Si Balong Gin Bulang” by Fahleen Fang, “Buklod Balod Bakod Bacolod” by Dranreb Cimatu, “Ka Aslum sang Batwan” by Renzo Grijaldo, “Princaesar” by Jaden Tenzing Mijares, “Lumay” by Mai Montelibano, “Duwa Duwa” by Kurt Soberano, “Tukturuok” by Zack Verzosa, and “Ang Tagabantay” by Pamela Reinee Viedor.
Each filmmaker will receive P100,000 in production assistance, which Lopez said is expected to be released within the month.
The competing short films must run between 15 and 20 minutes.
Festival rules also require the director to be a Bacolod City resident, while at least 50 percent of the cast and production crew must come from the city.
Department of Local Economic Development and Investment Promotions head and City Investment Officer Frances Mae Llamas said the festival comes at a time when Bacolod is looking back at several decades of filmmaking history while nurturing a new generation of local filmmakers.
She said the city has also begun institutionalizing the filmmaking process through the Bacolod Film Festival.
“We believe Bacolod is a creative city, and one of the creative lenses is filmmaking,” Llamas said.
She thanked Bacolod Mayor Greg Gasataya for continuing the city government’s support for the festival.
Llamas also announced that BFF has gained a new partnership with the Manila Film Festival and will become part of its film festival circuit.
She said the nine projects are strong contenders and encouraged Bacolodnons to support the films once they are screened in November.
The festival will offer free screenings on its opening day for students, community partners and Bacolod City government employees, while screenings on Saturday and Sunday will require paid tickets.
Llamas said the theatrical experience is part of what organizers want audiences to rediscover, particularly the opportunity to watch locally produced short films in Hiligaynon on the big screen.
The films were selected by a screening committee composed of filmmaker and educator Jonathan Jurilla, cultural advocate and festival director Helen Arguelles-Cutillar, and playwright-filmmaker Rolin Miguel.
Organizers said the committee reviewed submissions based on stories rooted in local places, people and culture.
The nine films are now moving into production ahead of their premieres during the Bacolod Film Festival.*
[sibwp_form id=1]