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.

The Objectifs Short Film Incubator, a new initiative focused on developing short film scripts by Southeast Asian filmmakers, was launched last Thursday, July 9, 2020 in Singapore.

This year’s edition of the 22nd Far East Film Festival Industry Section will feature two Philippine films in its lineup. In a recently published press release which also discussed the Far East Film Festival’s (FEFF) move into online platforms as a response to the current challenges placed by the coronavirus pandemic, the festival revealed that Xeph Suarez’s project Dancing the Tides will be part of the festival program “Ties That Bind 2020” while Khavn Dela Cruz’s Skeleton River will be part of “FOCUS ASIA 2020.” 

Amid recent events that faced the world with many uncertainties, creativity proved to be a resilient gift that always flourishes. This year, Nespresso Talents continued pushing the boundaries in filmmaking through its vertical format challenge. Launched in February, the theme “Virtuous Circles” challenged aspiring filmmakers to tell stories of how one good deed can be a catalyst for greater things to benefit the world. The theme proved to be more relevant than ever as the pandemic intensified the world’s need for inspiration, solidarity, and meaningful storytelling.

Relative to the FDCP-DOH-DOLE Joint Administrative Order No. 2020-001 on the Health and Safety Protocols for the Conduct of Film and Audiovisual Production Shoots and Audiovisual Activities During COVID-19 Pandemic effective upon its release on 7 June 2020, the following clarificatory guidelines are issued: