MANILA — The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), in line with its advocacy for women empowerment, has initiated CineMarya, the first women’s film festival in the Philippines to be held annually.
DILG Officer-in-Charge Secretary Eduardo M. Año is inviting filmmakers to vie for the seed money of PHP100,000 to be given to 10 grantees to produce inspiring short films about Filipino women.
“Storytelling through films is a tried-and-tested creative way for the Filipino viewers to better understand and appreciate an issue, inspire them, and engage them,” Año said in a news release issued Tuesday. “I call on Filipino men and women film artists to join CineMarya’s first year of competition. Share your talent for the good cause of advancing awareness and education on gender and development (GAD).”
DILG Assistant Secretary Marjorie N. Jalosjos, delegated by Año to handle the department’s GAD advocacy, said interested filmmakers could submit their entries to its partner for the CineMarya project, the Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP), from April to June.
Together with the FDCP and the Philippine Commission on Women (PCW), the DILG will sit on the panel that will evaluate 10 short film entries for CineMarya.
For the film fest debut set in March 2019, there will be the Best Picture, Best Director, Jury Prize, People’s Choice, and the Josefa Llanes Escoda Film Excellence Awards.
“CineMarya stems from the DILG’s aim for local government units (LGUs) to mainstream GAD and the Magna Carta for Women into their local plans, programs, and activities,” Jalosjos said.
She said the initiative is an educational and artistic support mechanism for LGUs vying for the DILG Seal of Good Local Governance (SGLG).
The SGLG is a progressive assessment system given yearly to select LGUs that meet good governance standards across several areas, including social protection of women.
“Through short films focused on women and GAD, LGUs will be able to learn experientially,” Jalosjos said.
She also urged interested filmmakers to submit their entries the soonest, to be included in the filmmaking workshop series to be conducted by the FDCP in support of the CineMarya film fest. (DILG-PR/PNA)
