Cinemanila returns for 11th edition

The11th Cinemanila International Film Festival from 15-25 October 2009 will feature an impressive line-up of 100 international and Philippines films. The festival will also feature workshops, seminars and master classes.

Presented by the City of Taguig and the Cinemanila International Film Festival Foundation, this year’s edition finds a new home at the Bonifacio Global City in Taguig.

In line with its efforts of fostering international cinematic excellence, Cinemanila will turn the spotlight on the World Cinema Fund (WCF). An offshoot of the Berlin International Film Festival, the WCF has been instrumental in launching critically acclaimed and competitively viable films since its inception in 2004.

The festival also features a film competition with the following categories: Main Competition (international features), Southeast Asia Competition (features and shorts), Digital Lokal (Philippine full-length digital films), Young Cinema (Philippine short films), Documentary (international) and its newest section, Machinima (international) – the first film festival in the country to host and encourage a new advent of filmmaking fashioned by technology.

Brillante Mendoza winner of the Palme d’Or this year for Best Director will be heading the Main Competition Jury for this year’s Cinemanila festival.

In addition, Mexican actor Diego Luna will be attending the festival. Luna is best known for his controversial role in Y Tu Mama Tambien (2001) alongside fellow Mexican Gael Garcia Bernal. Luna is also the co-founder of Canana Films together with Garcia Bernal and Pablo Cruz.

Luna will showcase his directorial debut, Chavez, a documentary about Mexican boxer Juan Carlos Chavez. It is produced by Bernal and Canana Films.

1st Cinemanila Machinima Film Festival Machinima is the thrilling union of filmmaking and online gaming, thus creating a new filmmaking genre where gamers have the chance to craft movies using video games. Gamers have absolute control in breathing life to their favourite game characters, designing the virtual environment of their movie and constructing a storyline that will test their creative abilities while considering traditional cinematic conventions. The new filmmaking movement virtually eliminates the usual headaches of traditional animation such as hefty expenses, wearisome pre-production and the long, sleepless nights. The 1st Cinemanila Machinima Film Festival is an avenue for ingenious, resourceful but cash-strapped gamers. In launching this new component of Cinemanila, gamers are given the chance to show the world what they can do and be recognized for their creativity. The best of Machinima will be honoured in an Award Ceremony on 17 October 2009 during Cinemanila International Film Festival. The Boracay Co-Production Meeting The Boracay Co-production Meeting is the first international platform in the Philippines where independent filmmakers from developing countries in Southeast Asia can apply for partial grants for their feature film projects. Organised by Cinemanila International Film Festival, the meeting’s sixth edition will take place on 24-26 October 2009 in Boracay, Philippines. Eight to ten projects will be chosen to participate in the co-production meeting. The deadline for submission is 15 September 2009. The grant is only open to filmmakers who are citizens of developing countries from Southeast Asia (not including Singapore). The project can be at any stage of production – pre-production, production or post-production stage.