Student filmmakers have until September 17 to submit their entries to the first-ever Cine-Phone Festival of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) and Metro Manila Film Festival – Philippines (MMFFP).
MMDA chairman Francis Tolentino said they have extended the deadline of submission of entries from August 26 to September 17 due to insistent requests from various school and university officials.
“The deadline extension will encourage more participation from students, especially those who have passion for filmmaking,” said Tolentino, who also chairs the MMFFP.
Tolentino clarified that would-be contestants need only to submit their storylines to the MMFFP office, which must be in sync with the theme, “Restoring Road Courtesy Among Motorists and Pedestrians.”
A total of 60 stories will be selected — 20 each from Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. Students will then undergo an extensive moviemaking workshop before they can start production of their final video entries.
Cine-Phone is a cellphone movie-making contest open to all high school and college students duly endorsed by their respective schools or universities. Entries must be one to three minutes long and filmed exclusively through the use of mobile phone cameras.
To date, MMFF has received more than 300 story entries from as far as Mandaue, Cebu, Davao, General Santos City, Iloilo, and Bicol region, according to Tolentino.
Tolentino announced that the university caravan will continue this September to further promote the Cine-Phone and Student Short Film Competition.
The caravan will be led byd irector Paul Soriano, who heads the 2012 New Wave student section of the MMFFP. The schedule is as follows: University of the Philippines – Diliman on September 6; Adamson University on September 10; and several colleges and universities in Davao and Cebu on September 11 and 12.
There will also be a free showing of the independent film “Thelma”, which Soriano directed and has won him awards locally and internationally.
Soriano has also made his own Cine-Phone film “Find Love: Use the Footbridge” to encourage students to produce their own cellphone movies. This will be shown during the caravan and can also be viewed at the MMDA’s Facebook and Youtube accounts.
The Cine-Phone competition seeks to widen the scope of the annual Metro Manila film festival by encouraging independent and young filmmakers to participate, Tolentino said.
Six regional winners will be chosen and awarded P25,000 each during the MMFFP’s Gabi ng Parangal set on December 27.
Aside from this, winners will receive free post-production packages, digital cameras, broadband kits, high-end smart phones, and apprenticeship under Soriano and Viva Productions.
Meanwhile, entries to the competition’s Student Short and Full Feature will be accepted until October 25.
“I am optimistic that the Cine-Phone competition will produce potential award-winning directors and will add to the success of this year’s MMFFP,” Tolentino said.
