The 4th Pista ng Pelikulang Pilipino (PPP) is going online as it marks the closing of the Philippine Cinema Centennial celebration amid Covid 19 pandemic restrictions in the operation of cinemas in the Philippines.
The PPP Online goes live on October 31, 2020, with a selection of over 100 films, announced the Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP).
The annual Philippine Cinema celebration showcases new quality genre all-Filipino films in a week-long screening usually screened in cinemas nationwide.
The 2020 edition will feature titles from local film festivals like the Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival, QCinema International Film Festival, Cinema One Originals Film Festival, Sinag Maynila Film Festival, CineFilipino Film Festival, ToFarm Film Festival, and Metro Manila Film Festival. Films from various producers and regional film festivals, plus FDCP’s PPP, Sine Kabataan, and CineMarya Women’s Film Festival, announced FDCP Chair Liza Diño-Seguerra.
“It’s a solidarity event that is why we chose the slogan, ‘PPP 4, Sama All!’ The play on the popular “sana all” catchphrase indicates that PPP 4 will host various film festivals in one platform, welcoming a wide range of filmmakers and audiences. Its sections are Premium, Classics, Documentary, Romance, Youth and Family, Genre, from the Regions, PH Oscars Entries, PPP Retro, Bahaghari, and Tributes, along with Sine Kabataan and CineMarya,” shared the FDCP chief.
All PPP films and events will be accessible in an exclusive FDCP-sponsored platform (FDCPchannel.ph) from October 31 to November 15.
Festival passes (Premium All-Access Pass, Half-Run Pass, and Day Pass) will be sold for PPP 4, and 100-percent of the proceeds will be given to producers involved through revenue sharing.
The FDCP will not charge fees to producers nor will it get a cut in the sales of festival passes despite its limited budget because we know that this will help filmmakers in these challenging times.
The partial list of films to be screened at the PPP 4 is as follows:
The Classics section will screen “White Slavery” by Lino Brocka, “Genghis Khan” by Manuel Conde, and “Manila by Night” by Ishmael Bernal, all of which are part of the FDCP’s Philippine Film Archive Collection. Kidlat Tahimik’s “Balikbayan #1: Memories of Overdevelopment Redux VI” and Fernando Poe, Jr.’s “Ang Panday” will also be shown.
The Premium section, meanwhile, will feature films that had limited release or have never been released to the Philippine audience. PH Oscars entries include “Verdict,” “Transit,” “Ma’Rosa,” and “Sa Pusod ng Dagat” while the Genre films are “Alpha: The Right to Kill,” “Instalado,” “Abomination,” “Jose Rizal,” “El Presidente,” “Dyamper,” and “In Nomine Matris.” The last two mentioned Genre films are among my most memorable film projects.
Filipinos love kilig flicks and the Romance section will take care of that with “Sakaling Hindi Makarating,” “Moments of Love,” “Ulan,” “Never Not Love You,” “Kailangan Ko’y Ikaw,” “Una Kang Naging Akin,” and “Mga Mister ni Rosario.”
The Youth and Family section has “Pepot Artista,” “Dayo,” “Family History,” “1st Sem,” and “Edward” while the PPP Retro has “Pauwi Na,” “Gusto Kita with All My Hypothalamus,” “Star na si Van Damme Stallone,” “Paglipay,” and “Circa,” starring the late screen legend Anita Linda.
The Bahaghari section has LGBT films such as “Akin ang Korona,” “Billie and Emma,” “Ned’s Project,” “Ang Huling Cha Cha ni Anita,” and “Rainbow’s Sunset” featuring the late greats Tony Mabesa and Eddie Garcia. Tributes to departed industry pillars feature “Adela” starring Linda and “Death Row” starring Garcia. Other Tributes films are “Insiang” (for Mona Lisa), “Muro-Ami” (for Marilou Diaz-Abaya), “Filipinas” (for Armida Siguion-Reyna) and “Sonata” (for Peque Gallaga).
Documentaries and films from the regions will also have their respective sections while for Sine Kabataan, films from its previous editions will be shown. The 4th Sine Kabataan will also have an online film development lab program with workshops and sessions on script development, pitching, safe filming, and editing. The Sine Kabataan Film Lab will kick off in November during the PPP run.
CineMarya Short Film Festival
The final 12 short films from the CineMarya Women’s Film Festival will also have a special premiere in PPP 4. CineMarya was launched by the FDCP in partnership with the Department of the Interior and Local Government and the Philippine Commission on Women to tell stories of Filipino women, particularly their strength and passion in overcoming societal struggles.
This year’s PPP may be different, but I assure you that it will continue to celebrate the heritage and potential of our film industry by promoting the appreciation and love for Philippine Cinema. More importantly, the festival will keep on promoting unity and solidarity because ultimately, PPP 4 is a way to help sustain the Filipino film industry in light of the devastating effects of the pandemic.
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