BUDDING and professional filmmakers in Negros Occidental will now enjoy a home for their filmmaking to improve and flourish not just in the country but globally with the opening of a Cinematheque Centre at the Negros Museum in Bacolod City.
Liza Dino-Seguerra, chairperson of the Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP), came to Bacolod City on Monday, November 26, along with Negrense actor Joel Torre, who joined the group of Lyn Gamboa of the Negros Museum, Dr. Adrian Torres and Banjo Hinolan in introducing the newly established Cinematheque Centre in Negros Museum.
Cinematheque Centres are managed by FDCP. It serves as an alternative venue for screening classic and contemporary Filipino films and a hub for film development programs and on-ground events that promote cultural exchange and nurture a community's film culture.
Dino-Seguerra was happy that their dream of building a Cinematheque Centre in Bacolod City came true in more than two years of brainstorming up to the successful execution of their development plan.
“The opportunity to empower regional film communities and regional filmmakers to have an avenue and to have a platform for them to be able to tell their stories from their own locality without having to go to Manila,” Dino-Seguerra said.
She said this was their ultimate plan and vision especially when it comes to our film development.
They have identified cities and communities that have a thriving community of filmmakers.
“It is unfortunate that these talented filmmakers were not been given the chance. There were so many regional film festivals all over the country which are really creating this vibrant scene in their own respective locality. The missing link is how the government can empower them,” she said.
“So, this is how FDCP started reaching out by engaging the support of various regional film festival directors so that we can go to their regions and get to know their filmmakers,” she said.
Dino-Seguerra said they get to support their film festivals because they believe that it starts from there.
She added that they are the catalysts who have the platform but were not given the chance.
“Bacolod is a perfect template of how prolific filmmakers, who are now giving back. They are homegrown filmmakers who travelled to Manila and created names for themselves and most of the masters of this film industry came from Bacolod and Negros. It was so fitting to have a Cinematheque Centre here in Bacolod,” she said.
She added that when they came here, they met Gamboa who was also very passionate about the idea where it only took them one meeting to realize this dream.
“We cannot realize this dream without the collaboration of all the stakeholders. We can have a vision and plan but if the stakeholders are not involved and passionate and they don't make things happen as well, it is not gonna materialized,” she said.
This is our second Cinematheque Centre in the country. The first one was in Compostela Valley.
Gamboa said: “My biggest frustration was why is everything happening in Manila. We have the best people and why they are performing in Manila? Our ballet dancers are world class and why do I have to spend P200,000 to bring them here? But with this Cinematheque Centre, this is the beginning of the real collaboration with all the arts in the country because while the Negros Museum is alive, arts, culture, and heritage will always be alive.”
For his part, Torre said that nothing happens by coincidence.
“This is an art space. We have worked on it and this will be the firsts among the many. Mine is giving back to Bacolod. Our story is about our culture, about who we are. The film is a culture. Whatever you show is part of you. That's our story...The possibilities have a very wide spectrum by bringing back the talents. We will bring the experts here to inspire the new generation,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Sine Negrense Negros Island Film Festival which started on November 24 to 29 was set at the Cinematheque Centre. (CNC)