6 Pinoys in Berlinale Talents

Dodo Dayao’s horror film “Never the Bright Lights”

Six Filipinos will be among the 250 participants from 71 countries in this year’s Berlinale Talents.

The Filipino contingent in the annual summit will be led by producer Tonee Acejo, documentarian Alyx Ayn Arumpac, film critic Richard Bolisay, production designer Popo Diaz, actor Aaron Rivera and art director Monica Sebial.

The six-day program presents a range of sessions, workshops and activities for different film professionals. This year’s theme is “Courage Against All Odds” and will feature 100 internationally renowned experts discussing their work.

This year’s Berlinale Talents will be held from Feb. 11 to 16 in Germany. An international selection committee handpicked the six Filipino representatives, along with the other participants, from 2,711 applications from 127 countries.

Alyx Ayn Arumpac

This year’s participants hail from different fields: from directing and producing to sales, distribution and sound design.

Several participants with films in development have been selected for Project Labs in the documentary, fiction and short sections. Acejo told the Inquirer that she is part of the pitching session, while Arumpac is included in the docu section.

Acejo is presenting Dodo Dayao’s horror film, “Never the Bright Lights,” in the Talent Project Market, while Arumpac is submitting “Aswang” (which tackles supernatural beings and extrajudicial killings) in the Doc Station.—BAYANI SAN DIEGO JR.

Popo Diaz