MANILA, PHILIPPINES, AUGUST 24, 2020 -- Following the successful celebration of the 24th Asian Television Awards (ATA) in Manila in January 2020, the ATA has announced it is partnering the Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP) in the quest for the best of Filipino talents and entertainment programs in the country to compete on Asia Pacific’s largest platform for content makers.

The Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP) is now calling for submissions for Sine Wikain: Sandaang Pagpapaalala, an online challenge celebrating the ‘Buwan ng Wika’ and the closing of ‘Sine Sandaan: The One Hundred Years of Philippine Cinema. Spotlighting the interpretation of ‘salawikain’ into vertical short films, #SineWikainChallenge is a social media challenge meant to remind Filipinos about childhood teachings while also providing positive content and values that could uplift us  amid the pandemic.

Four international productions, with two shot in the Philippines and another two co-produced with a Philippine company, are the first recipients of incentives from the FilmPhilippines Office (FPO) of the Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP).

“Zsa Zsa Zaturnnah vs. The Amazonistas of Planet X,” the animated comedy film of Avid Liongoren, was awarded the Open Doors Locarno Development Support Grant on August 12. The project, co-produced by Liongoren of Rocketsheep Studio and Franck Priot of Ghosts City Films in France, will receive 14,000 Swiss francs. 

In June, the Film Development Council of the Philippines launched its initiative, Binging During Quarantine, a campaign encouraging the public to share their favorite films and series—particularly those currently available in online platforms—so that others could binge on them as well during this quarantine period. The campaign is a safe and fun way to promote our love for cinema while maintaining necessary social distancing by staying in the comfort of our homes.

The community quarantine due to COVID-19 took over the second quarter of 2020, but this did not deter the Philippine Film Archive (PFA) from fulfilling its role of protecting our national film heritage, which includes the University of the Philippines Film Institute (UPFI) Film Center film collection.

After the success of this year’s first-ever Manila-hosted 24th Asian Television Awards (ATA) last January 10 to 12 at Resorts World Manila, the region’s most celebrated TV awards show opens its Call for Entries for the 25th Asian Television Awards. The 25th ATA is slated to happen on January 15 to 17, 2021 at Cambodia with Bayon TV as official broadcast partner. 

Philippine cinema’s presence will undoubtedly be felt at this year’s edition of the Locarno International Film Festival. In collaboration with the Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP), this year’s edition of Locarno, dubbed Locarno 2020 – For the Future of Films, features The Philippines as a spotlight country in its Open Doors program.

Docs by the Sea, the only international forum focused on Southeast Asian documentary projects, will continue in this year’s fourth edition via its Online Platform. The forum which features a Storytelling and Editing Lab and a Pitching Forum will run for two weeks from August 13 to 28 in which the two programs will run concurrently. During this span, it will be attended by filmmakers, mentors, and industry decision-makers alike with the aims of developing relationships and collaborations within the film community of Southeast Asia. 

“Gensan Punch,” the first sports biopic of multi-awarded filmmaker Brillante Ma Mendoza, was among the titles presented by SC Films International at the virtual Marché du Film (Cannes Film Market) of the Cannes International Film Festival in France.