(c) Cinematheque Centre Manila
Words by Christiana Catu
Is it just me or have film festivals taken the spotlight in the media industry? In recent years, audiences for them have significantly grown in number–particularly in the Philippines! People used to just settle for what mainstream media had in store. Families would save the date for a day at their favorite malls to watch the same film franchises hitting the cinemas in December for the most popular celebration of Filipino films. But lately, after getting a taste of the heights Filipino filmmakers can achieve, people have started to demand the kind of quality content they want to see on screen, which is why it is an opportune moment to have MOVIEMOV grace our local cinema this year.
(c) Cinematheque Centre Manila
And what’s better than a film festival? A moving film festival, which is exactly what MOVIEMOV is! They bring the experience to you in their week-long screening of films, from April 23-26 this 2019 at Cinematheque Centre Manila, showing the daily Italian life in their raw, most real form. This is the fourth time the festival has come to the Philippines, one of three stops in Southeast Asia aside from Vietnam and Thailand. The films revolve around stories of relationships, solitude, sadness, struggle, and resistance; a love triangle in the midst of a fight for life, finding freedom and losing it at home, the difficult life in the slums told through the lens of a smartphone, young people on a journey to self-discovery getting lost in an uprising, and more. And get this: The audience gets to pick the winning films!
(c) Cinematheque Centre Manila
Directors and actors such as Luca Bellino, Federica Sabatini, Agostino Ferrente, Mario Sesti, and Silvia D’Amico sat down to discuss and entertain questions regarding the production, casting, and the messages they wanted to convey on the festival’s first day. With the goal to dip their toes into strong, controversial topics with delicate hands, their reason for choosing the Philippines this year was not only due to familiarity and assured positive reception. They found the current situation in the country concerning the poor, who are automatically deemed as criminals and deprived of social justice, as fitting as it unravels the relevance of the points of discussion exposed in their films.
The festival was open to the public and free of charge.
What are you looking forward to in this year’s local film festivals? Tell us in the comments!
