MTRCB conducts first media literacy summit

CHAIR Eugenio “Toto” Villareal

The Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB) recently conducted its 1st Media Literacy Summit, meant to help young viewers discern good from bad movies.

The gathering of students, educators and community leaders, including representatives from the Muslim sector and Persons With Disability (PWD), was held at the MTRCB office in Quezon City.

MTRCB chief Eugenio “Toto” Villareal said the event was part of the board’s “Matalinong Panonood ng Pamilya nina Juan at Juana” campaign. He added that viewing independently-produced movies was an “integral part” of the summit.

“The participants watched a film and gave it a rating,” Villareal told the Philippine Daily Inquirer. “There was also a discussion about what an indie movie was, as compared to mainstream productions.”

During the summit, Villareal and several board members talked about their experiences in various fields of media. Fr. Nicasio Cruz gave a lecture on film language; journalist Mario Hernando, film appreciation; and Marra PL Lanot, the role of women in film and television.

Film hub

Jay Revestir conducted a lecture on “media/audience sensibility and sensitivity.” Noel del Prado explained the board’s adjudication process. MTRCB chief legal counsel Jonathan Presquito gave an orientation on the composition and functions of the board.

Villareal said his goal was to turn the MTRCB into an “independent film hub.” In October, a new preview room, Pribyuhan, was opened, with Hannah Espia’s “Transit” and Jerrold Tarog’s “Sana Dati” as the first indie movies to be screened.

“Students on a guided tour of our offices were invited to watch,” said the chair. “After each screening, we had a Q&A portion, where everyone learned so many things. We realized how heroic these filmmakers are, and were amazed that they made such good films in very limited time.”

Age-appropriateness would still be a factor in lining up the films to be shown here, Villareal pointed out. “We have to walk the talk. If a film is a bit sexy, but is considered a work of art, then it could probably be shown to viewers 16 years old and above. It would be off limits to younger visitors.”

Board members introduced themselves to the gathering of students, educators and community leaders, and discussed MTRCB functions and processes.

Villareal cited the MTRCB policy of granting a 70-percent discount on review fees to a qualified indie films. “We informed legislators who sat with us during our recent budget hearing at the Senate, that the indies made the bulk of films produced this year,” he said. “Compared to mainstream, the ratio is 2 to 1. We hope the special rate encourages them to produce even more films.”

Only those whose production budget does not exceed P3 million can avail of the discount.

Villareal noted, “A good number of films have budgets over P3 million. We’re studying whether or not it’s possible to raise the maximum budget requirement to accommodate more filmmakers. We’re taking care of the industry because that’s part of our mandate.”

Beautiful development

MTRCB Vice Chair Emmanuel Borlaza was recently elected chair of the board of the Directors’ Guild of the Philippines Inc. (DGPI), with filmmaker Joel Lamangan as president.

“This is a beautiful development,” said Villareal. “We want industry people to feel comfortable with the MTRCB. We will invite the group to have their regular get-together at the office. We want to encourage its members to get involved in our ’Matalinong Panonood’ campaign.”

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