Philippine Cinema is alive and kicking — just take a look at some of the films slated for release this year. Despite being in the thick of a pandemic, our filmmakers have persevered to give us great films.

MANILA, PHILIPPINES, JANUARY 30, 2022 — Bringing the Philippines two of its first historic wins this year from an A-list festival, “Leonor Will Never Die” by Martika Ramirez Escobar, the first Filipina feature film director to win the Special Jury Award for Innovative Spirit, and  Don Josephus Raphael Eblahan’s “The Headhunter’s Daughter,” the first-ever short film to bag the Short Film Grand Jury Prize made their mark at the Sundance Film Festival. 

Film, as an art form and a product, engages its stakeholders with its dualistic nature; it has both cultural and economic value and effects. It is not a homogenous monolith but a big, multi-faceted entity. While it deals with mainstream cinema, it also has a thriving independent film scene with a robust new breed of young filmmakers. While it is about story development, artistic endeavors, and content, it is also a business enterprise.

MANILA, PHILIPPINES, JANUARY 20, 2022 — Originally set as an in-person event in Park City, Utah, Sundance Film Festival will premiere its Filipino films in competition Leonor Will Never Die (Ang Pagbabalik ng Kwago) by Martika Escobar and The Headhunter’s Daughter by Don Josephus Raphael Eblahan online from January 20 to 30. 

MANILA, PHILIPPINES, JANUARY 19, 2022 — The Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP) has selected two emerging female producers as the country’s representatives in the 22nd Rotterdam Lab of the of the 51st International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) in the Netherlands. 

TANAUAN, BATANGAS, PHILIPPINES, JANUARY 19, 2022 — From the Batangas Forum for Good Governance and Development Association, Inc. (BF), in partnership with the Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP), comes a series of online workshops on the foundational skills in filmmaking through the FDCP Film Talks @ Doon Po Sa Amin Pride Campaign for all Saturdays of January 2022.

The current landscape is quickly evolving but we are all adapting to the new challenges presented by our changing times. For our film industry, the direction is going toward learning and relearning new viable ways to distribute films beyond and in addition to the traditional distribution models. One of them is screening in top film festivals to increase the value and attract distribution deals for your film. In this area, Filipino films are taking great strides.