Despite pandemic, Mindanao Film Festival will push thru this year

DAVAO CITY, July 13 (PIA)- The Mindanao Film Festival held annually in Davao City will still be held this year amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Instead of cinema screening which were done in the past it will be a virtual film festival,” says Lou Raphael Cañedo, president of the Mindanao Film and Television Development Foundation Inc. (MFTDFI) organizers of the festival.

Before the pandemic, the MFF was held every first or second week of December. A one week theatrical screenings held at Gaisano Mall Cinemas and the film festival awards night are among the highlights of the MFF which will be the 18th staging this year, making it one of the longest continuous running regional film festivals in the country.

“The virtual festival will expand our audience, in the past those who can watch our films are those who can physically go and watch the film at Gaisano Mall cinema, but with the online platform, the world can see our films,” Cañedo said.

The MFF screens a diverse array of films coming from Mindanao and those made by Mindanaoan filmmakers.

To jumpstart the festival, the MFTDFI is launching a call for entries for filmmakers who would want to feature their films in the festival.

For those interested in submitting their films to the festival, the following are some of the eligibility requirements:

a.           Films must be completed anytime between October 2019 to October 2020.

b.           Entries must contain English subtitiles

c.            Entries submitted to the previous stagings of the MFF are not eligible

d.           Films must be encoded in H.264 codec and mp4 extension.

e.           The use of unlicensed copyrighted material is strictly prohibited

f.             And filmmakers must fill out the submission forms and waiver forms digitally.

For downloadable forms and other requirements, interested filmmakers are advised to visit the www.mindanaofilmfestival.com. Deadline for the submission of entries is on October 9, 2020, 6:00 p.m.

Cañedo also reminded that those who would be producing films for the festival need to practice safe and healthy protocols in their shoots. For further guidance they are requested to visit  the Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP) safe filming guidelines page at bit.ly/SafeFilmingPhil.

The 18th Mindanao Film Festival is being supported by the Film Development Council of the Philippines, and the Davao Autism Intervention Center Foundation Inc. (PIA/RG Alama)