In celebration of the 50 years of diplomatic relations between Singapore and the Philippines, as well as the 100 Years of Philippine Cinema, the Philippine Embassy in Singapore has mounted the inaugural Philippine Film Festival. Pinoy and foreign cinephiles are in for a treat from November 12 to 15 as there is a special screening of “Mr. and Mrs. Cruz” as well as free screenings of “Seven Sundays,” “Bakwit Boys” and “Siargao” at the Shaw Foundation Alumni House of National University of Singapore (NUS).

Filipino filmmaker Dwein Baltazar’s “Oda sa Wala” joins the diverse selection of outstanding films in competition at the 54th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival (KVIFF), making it the only competing Filipino film in the prestigious film festival for 2019. Established in 1946, the KVIFF is the largest film festival in the Czech Republic, the leading film event across Central and Eastern Europe, and one of the oldest film festivals in the world. The KVIFF shares the same category as Cannes, Berlin, Venice, San Sebastian, Moscow, Montreal, Shanghai, and Tokyo as one of the world’s most prestigious film festivals.

To provide a platform for expressing the youth’s perception on social issues, the Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP) will once again hold the Sine Kabataan, a short film competition that showcases the youth’s raw talents in telling stories through films about socially relevant issues that affect the youth.

Be mentored by seasoned local filmmakers by attending the Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP) Film School Basic Workshops on Filmmaking this coming November 16 to 17, 2019 from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM in Cagayan and Davao. FDCP, the country’s film agency, conducts filmmaking workshops under the Film Development Support Division (FDSD) to make learning filmmaking more accessible and to elevate the quality of films in the country.

Filipino film projects and filmmakers were well-recognized in the recently concluded Hong Kong-Asia Film Financing Forum (HAF), especially with Adolf Alix, Jr.'s Circa and Mikhail Red's The Grandstand which received awards during the HAF Awarding Ceremony last March 20 at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre.

The Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP) continues its developmental programs for the empowerment of regional cinema with the first-ever Southern Voices Film Lab (SOVOLAB), which aims to advance and develop feature film projects from Mindanaoan filmmakers.

The support for Philippine Cinema has intensified worldwide over the past couple of years as various Philippine Embassies and Consulates have held film festivals to highlight the country's cinematic achievements. The latest film champion supporting the 100 Years of PH Cinema is the Philippine Embassy in Portugal with Ambassador Celia Anna “Cookie” Feria at the helm. 

The Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP) has partnered with Marche du Film to showcase the Philippine film industry as the Spotlight Country for this year’s Cannes Producers Network happening from May 15 to 21, and with it, the chance to feature Filipino production companies to international partners.

Film director Petersen Vargas’ second feature project “Some Nights I Feel Like Walking” has been selected for this year's Locarno Film Festival’s Open Doors Hub program in Switzerland. Established 17 years ago, the Open Doors Hub Program is Locarno Film Festival’s industry sidebar. Directors and producers with projects chosen for the program will be mentored and will have the opportunity to network with potential international distributors and partners. This year, the co-production platform will present eight (8) promising projects from Southeast Asia for international collaborations.

The Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP), the country’s national film agency, continues its thrust to strengthen regional cooperation for the development of the audiovisual industry as it participated in the recently concluded Roundtable for the proposed ASEAN-ROK Film Cooperation Organization last November 6 to 7, 2019 in Busan, South Korea.