• KEITH BRANDON CARI-AN
Young Negrense screenwriters sharpened their pens and cinematic hats as they underwent the three-day Regional Screenwriting Workshop for Beginners 2024 at the Cinematheque Negros, The Negros Museum in Bacolod City.
Organized by the Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP) and the Filipino Screenwriters Guild (FSG), 15 students from the Academic Film Society (AFS) members learned from esteemed filmmakers Dustin Edward Celestino, Wanggo Gallaga, and Jules Katanyag.
They were Francis Exequiel Ampil, Juan Carlos Araullo, Angeliza Arceño, Erika Beaudin, Kyla Borromeo, Flynn Marie Buenaflor, Kent Michael Cadungog, Ursula David, Rhyne Angel Dayaganon, Alethea Estilo, Regina Fernandez, Mary Kareen Gancio, Mark Raymund Garcia, Edward Wilfred Lobaton, and Paula Mae Villarosa.
The three-day intensive workshop, from July 31 to Aug. 2, gave the participants a chance to explore the fundamentals of screenplay writing, along with a series of lectures from the resource speakers.
They were also mentored in groups through breakout sessions with their mentor filmmakers to further develop and refine their vision for their screenplays.
The participants will continue to develop with work virtually where they will present these screenplays to esteemed filmmakers for creative evaluation.
During the graduation Aug. 2, FDCP chairman Jose Javier Reyes congratulated the aspiring Negrense screenwriters in his closing remarks.
“The voices coming from the various regions, using all the available languages and dialects are one in the creation of the Philippine cinema,” Reyes said.
The next regional screenwriting workshops will be held in Davao.
Upcoming film festivals
The Sine Negrense: Negros Island Film Festival, meanwhile, is still accepting entries for the November 2024 edition of the regional film tilt.
The film festival is set to run from Nov. 25 to 30, and will highlight outstanding independent films originating from Negros Island.
The competition is open to all filmmakers residing on Negros Island, or those who have produced a film shot on the island. The festival welcomed submissions across various genres including narrative, documentary, animation, and experimental films.
Meanwhile, the first installment of the Bacolod Film Festival (BFF) is underway.
For the maiden edition of the film festival, 10 finalists were chosen from 33 screenplay submissions that highlighted the theme “smile”.
The BFF is set to be staged this September.
During his second State of the City Address, Mayor Albee Benitez said the film competition is a way for the city government to support Bacolodnon filmmakers and artists.
“We see the potential of our creative industry, particularly of filmmaking and visual arts, to become a driver of growth in Bacolod tourism,” Benitez said. | FDCP photos
