THE House of Representatives recently approved a measure that seeks to grant incentives to Filipino lawmakers who won awards in notable international film festivals.
House Bill 7823, or the “Film Industry Incentives Act", states that by granting incentives to the filmmakers and production entities based on merit, the state shall encourage the production of more high quality films.
According to the bill, Filipino filmmakers and production entities, whose films have won the highest recognition for technical or artistic excellence in notable international film festivals, shall be granted the following incentives:
1) P5 million for an international award-winning full-length feature or documentary film;
2) P3 million for an international award- winning short feature or documentary film;
3) P2 million for a film director, main artist, screenplay, or for technical support filmmaker personnel including scriptwriter, cinematographer, editor, production designer, musical scorer, sound director, audio or video technician category who received the highest international awards in their respective categories. This reward shall be equally divided among the awardees, should there be more than one winner; and
4) P1 million for supporting artists or technicians who garnered the highest award in their respective categories.
The bill qualifies notable international film festivals as those that are well-known for their international profile, audience size, and have given recognition and awards to high quality films for the last five years.
Once enacted, the Film Development Council of the Philippines, in coordination with the Film Academy of the Philippines and the National Commission for Culture and Arts shall promulgate the implementing rules and regulations in relation to this act.
The bill is principally authored by Camarines Sur 2nd District Rep. Luis Raymund Villafuerte Jr. (Keith A. Calayag/SunStar Philippines)