Wazzup Pilipinas!?
The Film Development Council of the
Philippines (FDCP), in anticipation of the 6th Film Ambassadors’ Night,
gathered friends from the press last February 22, 2022 in Quezon City.
The FDCP welcomed
more than 40 of their media partners at the Agency’s first in-person press
conference after two years of holding media events online. About the same
number of friends from the press joined the occasion virtually via Zoom.
FDCP Chairperson
and CEO, Liza Diño together with Film Ambassadors Adam Dumaguin and Jek
Jumawan, shared what’s in store for the honorees at this year’s exclusive Film
Ambassadors’ Night that goes with the theme “Beyond Limits” in recognition of
the efforts and creative artistry of Filipino filmmakers as shown by their
continuous presence in the in the international scene despite the pandemic.
Dumaguin, a
21-year-old filmmaker, won 3rd Place for his debut short film, My House at the AGBO Film - No Sleep
‘til Film Fest in California, USA last May 2021. Dumaguin admits that his win
was unexpected, “fast forward to a year from that win, nandito po ako sa harap
niyo, until now I’m still taking everything in and using everything for
experience.”
Jumawan, a Senior
High School teacher, won best actor “Sun of the East Award” for Pas-an (Carried Burdens) at the Tagore
International Film Festival in India last April 2021. “Iyong dala mo ang
pangalan ng Pilipinas sa paglahok mo roon [international film festivals] at
mabigyang parangal, talagang nakakataba ng puso,” Jumawan remarked.
My House is one of the twenty
one honorees for the short film category while Jumawan is one of the four short
film actor honorees.
John Arcilla, A-List Awardee and one of the recipients of
the Camera Obscura Award for On the Job:
The Missing 8, graced the event
as an online participant. Some of the other honorees who were also present
virtually were: Hannah Ragudos, director of the Short Film Honoree Ana Bikhayr (Okay Lang Ako); Khent
Cacho, director of the Short Film Honoree Ora
Miss Mo; Patti Lapus, producer of
the Feature Film Honoree Midnight in a
Perfect World; and Cedrick Juan, Feature Film Actor
Honoree for Gitarista.
All of the 77 honorees—including the Camera Obscura and
Gabay ng Industriya Awards to be conferred by the FDCP— will all be feted at
the Film Ambassadors' Night on February 27, 2022 to be held in the historic
architectural landmark, The Manila Metropolitan Theater.
In the press
conference, FDCP Chairperson and CEO, Liza Diño expressed “FDCP’s objective for
FAN is to celebrate our filmmakers’ successes. We have gone so far in bringing
Philippine cinema to the world but we still have so much to do. We continue to
create content and we continue to represent the Philippines through our
stories.”
Diño also
clarified, “We name them ‘film ambassadors’ because they represent our cinema,
they promote our films in different parts of the world by joining international
film festivals. We give importance to these recognitions because they are
creating platforms for our Filipino filmmakers to be showcased in that
particular country where their films were screened.” She added, “With more than
7000 film festivals all over the world every year, our role is to find the
legitimate ones. Our criteria is on the film festivals and not on the
filmmakers.”
The annual
celebration of Philippine cinema continues to be a symbol of hope for the
future of Filipino filmmakers in setting the standards to be a globally
competitive industry. This year’s Film Ambassadors’ Night is special as it will
also celebrate not just the wins, but the courage and strength of Filipino
filmmakers overcoming the challenges of filming during a global pandemic in the
past year–and despite these challenges, still get to represent the country in
the world stage. Film Ambassadors’ Night 2022 will be an in-person event this
Sunday exclusive to honorees. Telecast date via the FDCP Channel will be
announced at a later date.
Ross is known as the Pambansang Blogger ng Pilipinas - An Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Professional by profession and a Social Media Evangelist by heart.
