MANILA, PHILIPPINES, MAY 27, 2021 — Before proceeding with the production of their respective projects and in line with the Film Development Council of the Philippines’ (FDCP) promotion of health and safety guidelines during the COVID-19 pandemic, the 10 finalists of the Sine Kabataan 4 Short Film Competition underwent the Safe Filming Lab to be oriented on the government’s prescribed safety and health protocols for production shoots amid the pandemic.

MANILA, PHILIPPINES, JUNE 8, 2021 — Film and audiovisual (AV) workers can now register with their respective local government units (LGUs) for their vaccination after the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) simplified and expanded the A4 Priority Group for the country’s vaccination plan to cover private sector workers and freelancers who work outside their homes.

MANILA, PHILIPPINES, JULY 14, 2021 — Full Circle Lab Philippines, organized by the Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP) in partnership with Tatino Films, will have another virtual edition from September 20 to October 1 as the capacity-building program led by international industry experts continues to support Filipino and Southeast Asian filmmakers in enhancing their projects to become globally competitive. 

Production Health & Safety isn’t meant to be scary. The point of having sensible H&S measures in place is to keep everyone safe. After all we are filmmakers, not special forces soldiers (the sleep deprivation can be similar). The consequences of not taking it seriously can be scary though.

CANNES, FRANCE: As one of the world's top three most important film festivals and film markets, the global industry has always looked to Cannes for the trends and future of festivals and the market for films. Indeed, "Cannes is Cannes" as every year, it sets the tone, direction and vision for the world's players.

The Philippines has never been short of film artistry, but more can be done to broaden the diversity of our stories. There's always a center of filming and arts in a country such as Hollywood in the United States, Mumbai in India, and in our case, Metro Manila. But we can't deny that there are also rich and promising narratives in the fringes.

They say that life begins at 40. If you asked me in the past, this means having a celebration that's bigger than my usual ones. So before the pandemic, I had originally planned on something big to mark this milestone.

Fifteen months have passed since the declaration of a national state of calamity in the country due to the Covid-19 pandemic. It seems like a short period of time - just over a year - yet, we have a film and audiovisual (AV) industry that continuous to be gravely affected by the lockdown and necessary restrictions.

I am a member of the LGBTQIA+ community. My husband, Ice Seguerra, is a transman, and we belong to a transgender family. We have been married for seven years, withstanding the harsh judgments because we choose to be real and true to who we are.

For over a year now, this column has been a platform for updates on the film industry, including the projects and programs of the Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP). Whenever I share with you something new from the national film agency every Sunday, I focus on how it would contribute to Philippine Cinema. This time around, I'd like to put the spotlight on the people that make up the FDCP.