Mindanao Film Festival opens tomorrow

DAVAO CITY- The longest running regional film festival in the country is all set to open tomorrow (December 9).

The 11 staging Mindanao Film Festival will run until the December 15^th. Gaisano Mall Cinema 6 and the Davao Cinematheque will host the theatrical screenings of the festival.

About 35 films will be featured; all of them short films from Davao City and other parts of Mindanao.  The lone full-length film is the Quezon City International Film Festival finalist “Iisa” shot in Compostela Valley, helmed by Chuck Gutierrez and written by Mindanaoan filmmaker Arnel Mardoquio.

Iisa will formally open the film festival in tomorrow’s ceremonies at the Gaisano Mall cinema 6.

Another notable work, the University of the Philippines Film Institute (UPFI) Best Thesis Film for 2015,the experimental silent film comedy “Man In The Cinema House“ is one of the films to be shown at the Davao Cinematheque. The film is helmed by Bernard Jay Mercado from Cagayan de Oro.

The festival will again have a strong selection of films from the provinces particularly the town Nabunturan in the province of Compostela Valley showcasing their films from their homegrown film festival, the Nabunturan Indie Film Exchange. There are also films shot in locales such as Panabo City and Talikud Island in Davao del Norte.

Davao City will be presenting several horror genre short films, and works of the recently revitalized Guerrilla Filmmaking Workshops and the 24-hour filmmaking competition the Guerrilla-Film-A-Thon.

The films will compete for various awards including best film in the awards night, which to be held on Dec. 14. Film Festival jurors include filmmaker Benjie Garcia, humanities professor and film festival organizer Katrina Ross Tan and film editor Chuck Gutierrez.

The film festival is organized by the Mindanao Film and TV Development Foundation and the Davao Autism Intervention Center Foundation Inc. with the support of the National Commission for the Culture and the Arts (NCCA).

The MFF is also helped with the assistance of various partners such as the Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP), City Government of Davao, Canon Philippines, Population Commission, Puwersa ng Bayaning Atleta (PBA), Gaisano Mall Cinema, Southspot, Taters, Filipino Comfort Food (FCF), Kusina sa Subli, Louworks Studios, FilminDavao, Muzika del Sur, Genesis 88, Hiyang Organic Soap, Pudols and  State of Mind Productions. (PIA/RG Alama)