FDCP acquires four award-winning titles; continues to bring world cinema to Pinoy audiences

Wazzup Pilipinas!?

With the goal to bring world cinema and make critically-acclaimed titles even more accessible to Filipino audiences, the Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP) has acquired the rights to four new titles from Belgium, Austria, Cambodia, and United Kingdom.

Charlotte Wells’ “Aftersun” (2022) tells the story of Sophie as she reflects on the joy and melancholy of a holiday she took with her father 20 years earlier. The film took home the French Touch Prize of the Critics’ Week Jury at the 75th Cannes International Film Festival.

Another Cannes-winning title FDCP acquired is Marie Kreutzer’s “Corsage” (2022) which depicts the life of Empress Elizabeth of Austria, told on a fictional account. The film won the Cannes Un Certain Regard Section’s Best Performance Award for Vicky Krieps’ portrayal of Empress Elizabeth. It also had its PH premiere during the 10th QCinema International Film Festival.

Davy Chou’s “Return to Seoul” follows the life of a 25-year-old French woman as she returns to her birthplace, South Korea, after being adopted to a French family. She then decides to track down her biological parents but her journey takes a surprising turn. Chou’s film won international acclaim in various film festivals like Asia Pacific Screen Awards, Athens International Film Festival, and Belfast Film Festival among others. Likewise, it also had its PH Premiere during the 10th QCinema International Film Festival and bagged the Jury Prize award.

Finally, 75th Cannes International Film Festival Grand Prix Prize Winner “Close” (2022) directed by Lukas Dhont depicts the lives of 13-year-olds Leo and Remi as they slowly drift apart after their relationship is questioned by their schoolmates. Dhont’s film also got the nod of the Academy Awards when it got nominated for the Best International Feature category.

More than its aim to encourage audiences to return to the cinemas, FDCP, through its Audience Development Program, aims to further expose moviegoers to titles that would help them expand their horizons.

The screening of these films will be held in select theatres nationwide and the FDCP’s very own Cinematheque Centres in Manila, Nabunturan, Davao, Iloilo, and Negros.

Follow us on social media to stay updated in our screening schedules.

New documentary offers hope for vanishing mangroves

Wazzup Pilipinas!?




Mangrove deforestation is a global crisis, but this scientist-turned-filmmaker has found hope in a small Southern Tagalog town where culture and nature intersect in surprising ways.

View the full teaser trailer of Dr. Lemnuel Aragones’ Bakawan here: https://youtu.be/VlnSo3gn73U. The documentary is set to have its free public premiere on March 27, 2023 (Monday), at 1:00 PM at the Institute of Biology (IB) Auditorium, UP Diliman.

​​The Philippines is the second worst country in terms of mangrove losses in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN): it suffered a 10.5% decline between 1990 and 2010, according to independent studies cited in a recent comprehensive survey. The country is surpassed only by Myanmar, which suffered a 27.6% loss between 2000 and 2014.

With mangrove decline continuing largely unchecked, coastal communities that have depended on these forests for generations face losing the heart not just of their food, fuel, shelter, and livelihood, but also of their very culture. But for Dr. Lemnuel Aragones, a marine biologist and former director of the University of the Philippines - Diliman College of Science Institute of Environmental Science and Meteorology (UPD-CS IESM), all is not yet lost.

Dr. Aragones’ debut documentary, Bakawan (the Tagalog term for mangroves), tells the story of the people of Alabat Island in Quezon Province, a five-hour drive and an hour’s ferry ride away from the nation’s capital. Shot during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown, the film delves into the townspeoples’ renewed relationship with the mangroves that they call home. With the theme, “Kahalagahan, isyus, at pagpapanumbalik,” Bakawan explores the human story of living in and with Alabat’s estuarian mangrove forest.

A collaboration between Dr. Aragones and UP Film Institute Associate Professor and filmmaker Nick Deocampo, Bakawan is part of the IESM’s 20th founding anniversary celebration this year. It is the only science-oriented video among the ten entries to the UP Emerging Interdisciplinary Research Grant’s (EIDR’s) Cinema for Education: Rationalizing the Philippine Audio-visual Industry to Promote Inclusive Education Through Film Literacy.

Funded by the UP Office of the Vice President for Academic Affairs (OVPAA), the Cinema Education research project explored ways to improve audio-visual materials for Philippine schools, such as by looking at how documentaries could be used to supplement and augment existing teaching and learning methods.

The COVID-19 pandemic emphasized the need to improve the traditional Philippine education system, with educators and students around the globe relying on technology to teach and learn. With a vision to have an audio-visual industry that complements digital technology in creating educational content, Cinema for Education aims to integrate image-based learning, such as utilizing films and videos, and digital technologies into the current word-based Philippine education system.

“We are exploring ways to maximize the utility of cinema for education by promoting inclusive education in the Philippines,” Dr. Aragones explained.

Honda, C&E Publishing, GBF invest in Young Filipino Innovators through DOST-SEI's 6th imake.wemake

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Innovators will see more support from big players in the field of science, technology, and innovation as the Department of Science and Technology – Science Education Institute signs Memorandum of Agreement with Honda Cars Philippines, Inc. (HCPI), C&E Publishing, Inc. (CEPI), and Gokongwei Brothers Foundation (GBF) in the 6th edition of the imake.wemake:create.innovate.collaborate competition.

The signing ceremony, held on March 13, 2023 at the Sequoia Hotel – Manila Bay, Parañaque City, kicks off this year’s series of events for the imake.wemake competition, which is making its in-person comeback after two years of virtual runs.

Caption:
[L-R] DOST-SEI's sign partnership agreement to boost the promotion of science, technology and innovation among the youth. Dr. Josette T. Biyo, HCPI’s Atty. Louie Soriano, C&E Publishing’s Ms. Asela V. Javier and Ms. Graciela E. Mendoza.

Through the partnership, 20 finalists of the imake.wemake competition will have the chance to receive the C&E Adaptive Learning Solutions (ALS) Innovation Award, the Gokongwei Brothers Foundation Young Scientist Award, and three (3) Youth Innovation Prize awards with Php 200,000.00 cash grant each courtesy of HCPI.

DOST-SEI Director Dr. Josette T. Biyo expressed her gratitude to the partners who are investing in young Filipino innovators.

“I believe that through our partnership, more doors of opportunities will be opened, and more young people will be primed to become scientists and innovators – creating and collaborating for a better future,” said Dr Biyo.

Honda Cars Philippines, Inc.'s Vice President, Atty. Louie Soriano, congratulated DOST-SEI for the continuous success of the imake.wemake competition and affirms its oneness with the advocacy of promoting science, technology, engineering and mathematics in the country.

Ms. Asela V. Javier, business development and product marketing senior manager of C&E Publishing, Inc., delivered the message of support and gratitude of CEPI’s Chief Operations Officer, Mr. John Emyl Eugenio.

Ms. Graciela E. Mendoza of the Gokongwei Brothers Foundation, who has been DOST-SEI's partner in the competition since 2021 also graced the event and honored the young Filipino innovators’ role in forwarding innovation and boosting the country’s human resource capital in S&T.

After the signing ceremony, the top 20 school-teams from all-over the Philippines also began their first day in the 6th imake.wemake Bootcamp: Interfacing with the Arduino Platform and Electronics.

This year’s run of the imake.wemake received a total of 89 project proposals from public and private high schools nationwide. It is the biggest number of proposals received since its debut in 2017.

The finalists for the 6th imake.wemake are:

1. Alabel National Science High School - Regional Science High School for Region XII - "Project HAMOWG: Automated Atmospheric Potable Water Generator from Fog, Cool, and Warm Air"

2. Alaminos City National High School - “Automated Drying and Quality Controlling System for Rice Varieties”

3. Babag National High School - “CORNED: Communication Offline Response Network during Emergency Disasters”

4. Bansud National High School – Regional Science High School for MIMAROPA - “POXIFIER: An Assistive Medical Screening Device For Selected Skin Diseases Using Machine Learning Ensemble Embedded in a Mobile Application”

5. Cavite Science Integrated School - “ Project Kalinga: Geolocation Estimation of Forest Activities Using Triangulation and Sound Classification”

6. General Santos City National High School - “Barangay Automated Medicine Machine: A Solar-Powered Dispensing Device for Barangay Health Centers”

7. Iligan City National High School - "Pyre-Ranger: A Hybrid Eco-Friendly and Power-Sufficient Portable Incinerator for Personal Protective Gears and Plastics"

8. Jose Panganiban National High School - “TRITON: Underwater Drone for Detection and Removal of Crown-of-Thorns Starfish”

9. Kidapawan City National High School - “SAGIPMOKO: Emergency Search and Rescue Robot”

10. La Consolacion College Bacolod - “Project M.H.A.Y.A. (Maintenance and Harvest Automation using YOLO Algorithm): A Solar-powered Hydroponic Mushroom Farming Device”

11. Lala National High School - “Automated Calamansi Harvesting Robot”

12. Luis Palad Integrated High School - “Deep Learning ALPS: An Ensemble Model Device for the Detection of Rice Blast Disease (Magnaporthe oryzae) and Rice Field Soil Amendments with SMS Alert Reporting System”

13. Mamali National High School - “School-Based Four-Wheeled Cellphone Controlled Fire Fighting Robot”

14. Narvacan National Central High School - “Go, Grow, Glow: Green Tech Aquaponics”

15. Philippine Science High School - CALABARZON - “SAMGIOP: Development of an IoT-based Sensory Device for the Monitoring of Leaf Damage and Abiotic Factors in Cabbage (Brassica rapa subsp. pekinensis) using Raspberry Pi”

16. Polangui General Comprehensive High School - “Prototype Arduino Programmed Agribot”

17. Tabalong National High School - “PROJECT APPRA or Automatic Pick and Place Robotic Arm with the Combination of EV3 and Arduino”

18. Tanauan City Integrated High School - “Project HEXADS: Automated IoT-based Intelligent Capturing and Rearing Device for Endangered Sardinella tawilis (Herre, 1927) Conservation in Ex Situ Captivity”

19. University of Saint Louis – Tuguegarao - “Project FLAME: Flood Alert Monitoring & Eco-conscious Vessel Powered by Arduino System”

20. Vinzons Pilot High School - “E-quia: Remotely Operated Electrostatic Collector of Microplastics and Other Pollutants in Freshwater Environments”

Cover Photo Caption:

Top 20 school-teams pose for a photo with the officials of DOST-SEI, HCPI, C&E Publishing, Inc., and GBF as they are about to begin the first day of the 6th imake.wemake bootcamp.