Cebu docu fest aims for global recognition and social change

CEBU, Philippines - A group of accomplished Cebuano professionals who all share the common characteristic of being documentary film enthusiasts established the first-ever Cebu International Documentary Film Festival (CIDFF), which they recently launched to the press at Handuraw along Gorordo Avenue.

Motivated by their “belief in the power and significance of documentary films,” April Dequito, Joseph Michael Espina, Marie Ernestine Denise Fajatin-Pegarido, Lilu Aliño and Adrian Zen Pastoriza formed this non-profit organization to enhance public appreciation of documentary film as an art form.

Their other goals include educating filmmakers and growing independent film communities in Cebu through creative collaboration. CIDFF, according to its board members, will hold an annual international documentary film festival in Cebu, until such time will come that the event will serve as a benchmark for all documentary filmmakers, film producers and global media.

If done right, it will place Cebu in the filmmaking map so to speak, and thus will give our Southern province and the rest of the Philippines, international exposure.

“We have a lot of amazing filmmakers but they don’t get a lot of support. We chose to focus on documentaries because it’s a special niche. If the Sundance Film Festival is associated with Utah in the same way that the Cannes Film Festival is to France, we dream that someday CIDFF will be similarly

 institutionalized here in Cebu and known to the rest of the world,” said Dequito, who sits as CIDFF’s executive director.

She foresees CIDFF as opening new possibilities for Cebu’s creative industry. It will bring visibility and international credibility to Cebu’s film industry and get support for our film schools and film support services, Dequito added.

Dequito, by profession, is an architect and a social entrepreneur who’s had diverse leadership experience through her affiliations with organizations in the Philippines and New York. She received her Bachelor of Science degree in Architecture from University of San Carlos and attended further studies in International Affairs in New York City.

What they have took on is an ambitious undertaking, but such is their faith in the contribution that documentary films have in helping shape culture and creating access for specific underserved geographic communities. “As a compelling visual medium, documentary films will bring about progressive change by breaking down barriers to understanding; shedding light on social issues and telling stories about peoples, cultures and communities,” Dequito said.

For Pastoriza, the man behind the multi-awarded Cebu-based advertising company Campaigns Cebu, he surmised that the festival will help uplift the income-generating potential for creative films, which will directly benefit all film talents.

With that in mind, CIDFF will launch its first five-week course program tailor-made for the festival on May 7. The program will cover the ins and outs of documentary filmmaking and film festival management.

Festival course director, Aarti Shrivastava, a filmmaker based in India said that the program will follow the case method of instruction which focuses on the creative and analytical thinking of participants.

Shrivastava is a young emerging social entrepreneur and documentary filmmaker focused on media for social change. She recently directed “Land Of Widows,” nominated for the Best Film category in the 7th Aljazeera International Documentary Film Festival and 8th Bollywood and Beyond Film Festival. It is a 21-minute independent documentary focusing on the unsustainable working conditions of mine workers in the state of Rajasthan.

Her passion for cinema, arts and culture led her to create TV shows around human stories and their emotions and aspirations. She has covered and documented issues of poverty, illiteracy, unemployment and in human conditions that engulf Rajasthan and its mining communities.

Under her tutelage, the course will include basics in filmmaking, scripting and actual production; optimizing the use of social media in film promotions and modules on how to manage and execute a film festival.

There are two course requirements for interested participants: A laptop and a video camera. Graduates of the program will get to showcase their work during the festival proper scheduled on June 13-16, 2012.

Aside from the output of the program graduates, the festival will screen works from filmmakers across the globe which highlight issues faced by the world.

For more information, contact 514-8188 or 0922 8326 671. One may also visit the CIDFF website at www.cidff.org, or their office at 2/F DK2 Bldg., N. Bacalso Avenue, Cebu City. (FREEMAN)