A SHORT film festival CineMarya was envisioned as a festival that puts female experiences front and center.
“The festival aims to tell stories of Filipino women — their strength and passion [as they rise] above prejudice and struggles in society,” said Mary Liza Diño-Seguerra, chairperson and CEO of the Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP) in a statement.
Now calling for entries, the festival — done in partnership with the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) and the Philippine Commission on Women (PCW) — will be giving P100,000 seed grants to 10 interested amateur filmmakers aged 18 to 30 years for them to produce short films (10 to 20 minutes in length) “tackling women empowerment, different roles of women in society, and awareness about diverse social issues on women and equality,” said the release.
The festival is meant for those who are yet to make a full length feature/documentary.
“We wanted it to be a short film festival because we see a lot of potential in developing these kinds of films. The country has won in many full feature festivals already and I think it’s time to also focus on creating short films,” said Ms. Diño-Seguerra during a press conference in the FDCP Cinematheque in Manila on March 23.
She added that they are encouraging women filmmakers to take part in the festival — though they are not limiting themselves to only women filmmakers — as “nobody else would know the female situation better than women.”
Aside from the grant, the 10 chosen filmmakers will also undergo a two-day intensive film workshop with seasoned filmmakers and representatives from the PCW so the candidates will be able to hone their skills in story development, editing, and other elements of filmmaking “to better advocate women empowerment,” said the release.
The FDCP will also be providing two slots for each entry to the FDCP Filmmaking Workshop series: Planting Seeds and the Film Industry Conference held during the Pista ng Pelikulang Pilipino in August.
The finished films will be shown in a festival next year.
Entries can be submitted until June 30 at the FDCP offices at 855 T.M. Kalaw Street, Ermita, Manila and via cinemarya@gmail.com. — ZBC

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