- CHERYL G. CRUZ
The highly-urbanized Bacolod City will soon have its own film festival with the approval by the Sangguniang Panlungsod on third and final reading of the ordinance authored by Councilor Em Ang Feb. 14.
The ordinance seeks the holding of the festival for two consecutive weeks of July each year, and all cinemas operating within the City shall only screen films selected by a panel of jurors, based on the guidelines of the Bacolod Film Festival Council that will be formed and headed by the city mayor.
Ang, chairperson of the SP Committee on History, Culture and Arts, said in her ordinance that a Bacolod Film Festival Awards Night will also be scheduled within a week after the duration of the screening of selected films, and 15 awards will be up for grabs.
“Bacolod and nearby cities in the province of Negros Occidental have been producing films that made their mark in Philippine cinema, and several of these even made it to the Metro Manila Film Festival,” Ang said, adding that the ordinance “aims to further develop the film production scene in the city by creating a venue where Bacolod/Negros produced films are shown in major cinemas” in the locality.
She pushed for initial funding of P6 million, and the establishment of a special trust fund for the development and promotion of the Bacolod Film Festival. “The Fund shall be sourced from income-share of the filmfest, donations, sponsorships, gifts, and grants, whether local or foreign sources.”
The ordinance, co-authored by councilors Celia Flor and Cindy Rojas, also provides for the conduct of workshops to develop the film production knowledge of Bacolod filmmakers. “The Council may provide a cash grant of P300,000 to Bacolod filmmakers, who were able to successfully complete two workshops.”
Free screening tickets shall be given to all public schools in Bacolod, while public and private colleges and universities in the City are encouraged to make it a requirement for their students, either in Arts, Philippine History, Filipino, or other related subjects, to watch any of the flicks during the film festival./CGC
