THE Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP) will once again be honoring the stalwarts of Philippine cinema whose performances and cinematic work have brought recognition to our country through their awards and citations from the foremost international film festivals of the world, at the 6th Film Ambassador’s Night on February 27, 2022 at the reopened historical Manila Metropolitan Theater.
Every year, the Film Ambassador’s Night aims to recognize the films and filmmakers that gave pride to the Philippines in the past year— films that competed and screened on the global stage, placing Filipino talent side by side to the finest ones in the world.
For the past five years of this gathering of some of the brightest artists of the Philippine film industry, FDCP has honored a total of 319 Film ambassadors. The list grows even longer with the addition of 77 awardees for this year’s awarding.
“It’s another year's worth of victories with the best of the best Filipino films being recognized around the world, highlighting our cultural heritage in cinema over the years. As we have continued to reach altitudes on the global stage, we applaud each filmmaker who shared his or her talent, creativity, and passion to the world. We created this night to celebrate you,” FDCP Chairperson and CEO, Liza Diño expressed her excitement for this year’s awarding.
The annual ceremony will also be presenting the special honors of the evening — the Camera Obscura Award, as the highest honor granted by the FDCP to a film worker or a film project with extraordinary achievements with two recipients and the Gabay ng Industriya Award (Ilaw ng Industriya and Haligi ng Industriya), given to individuals who have made outstanding contributions during their lifetime becoming respected pillars of the Philippine film industry. Honorees for these will be unveiled by the Agency in the coming days.
The year 2021 was a challenging one for the industry with the global pandemic limiting distribution opportunities, on-ground events, and filming logistics. As the Philippine cinema continues to transition and overcome challenges, recognitions and notable participations in the major leagues of the international film scene is a worthy cause of celebration in this much-awaited occasion.
The 6th Film Ambassador’s Night will be an exclusive, invitational event for this year’s honorees at the MET Theater—a fitting home for this very important event—the cultural gem of Manila which recently celebrated its 90th anniversary. The event held in hybrid format will be telecast on the FDCP Channel on a later date.
Last year, Filipino films and filmmakers were feted at A-list international film festivals. Among the three of the biggest are: John Arcilla for On the Job: The Missing 8, Whether the Weather is Fine (Kun Maupay Man It Panahon) by Carlo Franciso Manatad for its numerous citations in the biggest international film festivals—74th Locarno Film Festival in Switzerland, Guanajuato International Film Festival in Mexico, 46th Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) in Canada, and at the 52nd International Film Festival of India. Also bagging Asia’s top film fests recognitions is Gensan Punch by Brillante Mendoza—34th Tokyo International Film Festival in Japan, and 2 awards from the 26th Busan International Film Festival in South Korea. (PR)