Councilor Em Ang wants Bacolod City to be named a United Nation’s Creative City for Film.
Ang, in her speech at the awarding ceremony of the Sine Negrense: Negros Island Film Festival at SM Cinema 2 in Bacolod City, on Saturday, Nov. 25 said with notable filmmakers in the country coming from Bacolod like Peque Gallaga, Lawrence Fajardo, Joel Torre, among others, it is fitting for Bacolod to be named a creative city for film.
Ang, Bacolod’s Sangguniang Panlungsod Committee for History, Culture, and the Arts chairperson, said that the city council can help enact legislation, institutionalize policies, and initiate programs for the promotion and development of creative industries, including filmmaking.
Bacolod Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez is committed “to work with all of you in providing our creative industries the utmost support that they deserve”, she told the attendees at the festival.
During the week-long film festival, two films from Sagay City won as the best short film in the intercollegiate and open categories.
“Pandayunon”, directed by Jo-an Pitogo, was the best picture in the open category, while “Si Emman, Simman” directed by Kenneth Luceñara, a student from Sagay National High School, won the best picture in the intercollegiate category.
“Padayunon” also bagged the awards for best screenplay and original song, while “Si Emman, Simman” won awards for direction, production design, cinematography, and acting.
Close to 40 awards were given at the film festival this year.
There were 30 short films in competition in the two categories.
Sine Negrense Festival Director Banjo Hinolan said the festival will continue to inspire the young minds and the creativity of every Negrense filmmaker.
“May these awards stand as a beacon of inspiration, encouraging the pursuit of storytelling excellence and the preservation of cultural heritage through the lens of cinema,” Hinolan said.*