Film council urges movie makers to tackle climate change

FDCP chair Briccio Santos hopes the IFX will remain “a bridge to other regions of the world in multilateral fashion.” photos courtesy of FDCP

Aiming to secure the support of local filmmakers to help raise awareness on the most pressing issues about the environment, the Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP) mounted the First International Film Commission’s Conference on Climate Change.

Held at the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC) in Pasay City, the conference featured international and local advocates of climate change, as well as film experts. They discussed how film and audio-visual images could help educate people on the issue, announced FDCP chair Briccio Santos.

“With the support of the Climate Change Commission Philippines, we are confident that our effort to enlist the support of our filmmakers will eventually make a mark in the advocacy programs for the mitigation of the ill effects of climate change worldwide,” Santos pointed out.

The event was “officially recognized” by the United Nations and the World Bank, Santos added. In fact, these organizations even sent representatives to join speakers from around the world to talk about what their respective groups are doing to combat climate change.

Present were Mary Anne Lucille Sering, commissioner/vice chair of Climate Change Commission Philippines; Luc de Cabelle, director of the French Development Agency in the Philippines; Rosa Perez, senior research fellow of the Manila Observatory, and Lucia Grenna, program manager of the Connect4Climate of the World Bank Group.

The conference was moderated by Jose Miguel de la Rosa, FDCP’s executive director for Philippine Film Export Service Office. It ended with the screening of the eight-minute documentary “The Heart of the Storm,” which chronicles the devastation wrought by Supertyphoon “Yolanda (Haiyan)”  in Tacloban City, Leyte, last November.

IFX ATTENDEES (from left) Syamsul Lussa, Peachy Santos and Susana de la Sierra

Annual film expo

The event coincided with the Third International Film Expo (IFX), which Santos said was the largest three-day film market of its kind in Manila this year.

Carrying the theme “Your Film Corridor to Asia,” the goal of the IFX was to turn the country into “a central hub for international film providers,” as well as to tap into the Asian market through coproduction, partnership and other mutually beneficial agreements.

“We are confident that this year’s edition will bring excitement to our ever-growing film industries in the region as we continue to inspire, connect and create platforms for stakeholders using this event,” Santos said in his welcome address on Friday. The IFX, which culminates today, is held at the SMX Convention Center in Pasay City.

Santos said the FDCP “conceived” the IFX three years ago when it realized “that there was fast-changing dynamics happening in our region, not only in terms of demographics but also the rapid economic transformations brought about by new technologies and a variety of platforms available.”

He added that he hoped the IFX would continue to be “a bridge to other regions of the world in multilateral fashion.” He likewise prayed that the event would help “address the needs of local filmmakers and provide other local institutions and film enthusiasts with the means to converse with international players.”

On its first day, the IFX featured, among others, symposia on “film and video commercial productions in the Philippines” and “analog to digital transformation in production and new media production management.” There was also a presentation on “world-class filming equipment.”

The IFX also had lectures organized by the UP Film Institute, Benilde Films, Cultural Center of the Philippines, as well as presentations by the Animation Council of the Philippines Inc., Black Magic and Array’s Technology Inc.

Award-winning director Maryo J. de los Reyes was a guest speaker yesterday and will return to speak again today.

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