A WEEK AFTER the Cinemalaya Independent Film Festival announced its postponement due to the limitations brought by the community quarantine measures in Luzon to fight COVID-19, another independent film festival, Cinema One (C1) Originals, has announced the postponement of this year’s festival which is usually held in October.

“After careful deliberation, we have decided to postpone this year’s C1 Originals given the detrimental COVID-19 pandemic we are facing,” said festival director Ronald Arguelles in a statement.

“The health and safety of our filmmakers, artists and production teams is our priority,” he added.

The 16th run of the festival will be moved to 2021 while submission of script entries has been extended until June 1, “allowing more time for debuting filmmakers to craft fresh and fascinating narratives intended for the big screen,” the statement said.

Qualified entries, chosen from scripts complete with sequence treatment entries, will be given a production grant of P3 million each. Entries must be from debuting filmmakers or be the filmmaker’s second feature-length film.

Last year’s festival saw LGBT drama film Sila-Sila by Giancarlo Abrahan named as Best Picture “over 130 entries submitted to the festival,” according to the release.

“C1 Originals has been producing breakthrough movies with thought-provoking stories for the Filipino audience since 2005. Throughout these years, the independent film festival has provided dauntless filmmakers a platform to produce their masterpieces and fulfill their visions,” the statement read.

Films from previous C1 Originals festivals are also showcased via the Cinema One Originals/Exclusives block every Sunday and Wednesday at 11 p.m. on the Cinema One channel.

For more information on the festival and submission requirements, visit cablechannels.abs-cbn.com and its social media pages. — ZBC

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