NO doubt the Busan International Film Festival has a special relationship with the Philippine film industry. I remember back in 2018, when life was less worrisome and we could all freely book a flight to showcase the best of Philippine cinema to the world, BIFF chose the Philippines as its country of focus.
Now that this unwelcome pandemic has changed the landscape of all aspects of cinema all over the world, our film industry, consistently championed by the Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP), continues to be a major player in this well-loved annual festival in Korea.
This year, FDCP held a successful virtual Philippine Cinema Night to the delegates from all over the film world, fully supported by our different government agencies. Secretaries Ramon Lopez of
the Department of Trade and Industry and Bernadette Romulo Puyat of the Department of Tourism spoke about the big role of Philippine cinema in the development of culture and heritage.
“Art is important, it isn’t a luxury, it is a necessity,” said Lopez. For her part, Puyat shared that “the Philippine film industry has long been an important vehicle in promoting our national identity.” She also took pride in sharing FDCP’s Film Philippines Incentives Program, which provides a one-stop shop to foreign productions wishing to shoot in our country.
The Philippine Cinema Night introduced the projects that made it to Busan this year: Death of Nintendo by Raya Martin and Cleaners by Karl Glenn Barit, plus outstanding short films How to Die Young in Manila by Petersen Vargas and Kids on Fire by Kyle Nieva in the Asian Short Film Competition of the Wide Angle section. The Asian Project Section also had Mindanao filmmaker Sheron Dayoc’s 6th Finger.
Korean Film Council Chairman Oh Seok Geun
was all praises for Philippine cinema and he lauded the visionary leadership of FDCP Chairman Liza Diño. “I know how much love and passion Liza has for the Philippines’s audiovisual industry and how selflessly she works to promote it. I am very happy that more and more films from the Philippines are pursuing a variety of international collaborations
and are garnering much deserved attention from around the world.”
Diño excitedly talked up the launch of the Asean Co-Production Fund under the Philippine Incentives Program wherein grants of up to $150,000 will be awarded to feature film collaborations between Southeast Asian and Philippines productions.
FDCP also spearheaded a forum, called “Screen Talk: Asian Production Bounces Back.” Screen International’s Wendy Mitchell was the moderator with Hong Kong-based producer and production director Jacqueline Liu, South Korean producer Kim Hyo-jeong, and Singaporean producer and screenwriter Jeremy Chua, who all joined Diño as panelists and speakers.
I attended this webinar and learned a lot about production practices, filming protocols, financing trends, and the coproduction possibilities of different countries in the region especially during these extraordinary times.
I just wish that in 2021, when the world finally finds concrete solutions in addressing and containing the virus, we can all attend international film festivals again to raise our Philippine flag higher than ever. And I’m sure that Busan will be a favorite destination like it has always been.