A FEW weeks back I was in Dumaguete City, dubbed as the “city of gentle people”, for this year’s staging of Cinema Rehiyon.
The Cinema Rehiyon is a film festival which gathers the best of regional films from across the country. It is a flagship project of the Cinema Committee of the National Commission for the Culture and the Arts (NCCA).
Being the festival director of the Mindanao Film Festival, a recipient of an NCCA grant, I was tasked to select some regional films from Davao to bring to Dumaguete.
Among the films chosen was the 16th Mindanao Film Festival Best Film winner “Pulangui”, helmed by Bagane Fiola; “Siyudad sa Bulawan”, a film about child laborers in the gold mines of Mt. Diwalwal, by Jarell Serencio; “Walay Nidanguynguy” by Glorypeal Dy; a pair of shorts by filmmakers from the University of Mindanao; “Midnight Epiphany” by James Villegas; and “Kapitan Ele” by Dan Angelo Calderon.
The 11th Cinema Rehiyon is hosted by Foundation University. The organizing team headed by Juliet Cuizon was able to mount the festival smoothly considering the large amount of logistics involved. The Film Development Council of the Philippines supported the event where they also held a Film Industry Conference for regional filmmakers.
Talks on producing, film financing, and pitching were held to help regional filmmakers level up with their productions.
Before the festival proper, film festival directors across the country underwent a film management workshop organized by the Film Development Council of the Philippines. Young Woo Kim, a film programmer from South Korea served as our workshop speaker.
The highlight of the workshop held in the town of Sibulan in Negros Oriental was a meeting with FDCP chair Liza Diño Seguerra, where problems and issues of various film festivals were tackled.
After the workshop from Sibulan we took a 20-minute ride to Dumaguete City for the festival. Screenings of films were held at the Foundation University, Silliman University, Negros Oriental State University and Robinsons Movieworld.
There were about 100 films which were screened consisting of shorts and full-length features.
I was able to watch “A History of a Few Bad Things” by Cebuano filmmaker Keith Deligero which stars 1990s Ang TV teen star Victor Neri as a police detective investigating a string of murders. Then there was Teng Mangansakan’s “Masla A Papanok”, which tells the story of a mythical bird in Cotabato and its appearance during the latter part of Spanish rule. I also got the chance to catch “Aria” by Kapampangan filmmaker Carlo Enciso Catu.
“Aria” revolves around a woman guerrilla fighting the Japanese in Pampanga during World War II.
The closing film of the festival was the 1966 film “Passionate Strangers”, parts of which were shot in Dumaguete City. It was made by the National Artist for film Eddie Romero who hails from Dumaguete.
Aside from meeting filmmakers and film programmers, arts and culture officials, supporters and academicians, I was able to explore this lovely city facing the sea.
Among the various attractions was the old Silliman University and its iconic campus of old buildings and acacia trees. Then there is the famed boulevard where one can watch folk performances while feasting on tempura peddled by ambulant vendors.
I was able to visit Dauin, the birthplace of my paternal grandfather. The town is famed for its dive spots, particularly the world-famous Apo Island.