Deadline to Cinephone entries Oct. 4

MANILA, Philippines - Filmmakers have until Oct. 4 to submit their entries to the Cinephone, Student Short Film, Animation and Full Feature categories of this year’s Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF).

A prelude to the annual mainstream MMFF, the Cinephone Festival, now on its second year, is a cellphone movie-making contest open to all enrolled high school and college students. Participants should submit a duly accomplished entry form together with the synopsis of the story and proof of enrollment. Aside from film scholarships and internships, Cinephone winners will receive P25,000 each.

Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) chairman Francis Tolentino, head of the MMFF, said the New Wave Film festival encourages young filmmakers to showcase their craft.

On the other hand, the Student Short Film category is open to all college students. The short film must not exceed 20 minutes and has not been entered in other film competitions. Entries should be submitted in five playable DVDs in AVI format. The Student Short Film winners will receive P50,000 for Best Picture and P25,000 for the Special Jury Prize, along with film scholarships and internships.

“The concept of change must come from the youth. Let us give them opportunity to espouse ingenious ideas and contribute to the development of the film industry,” Tolentino said.

MMFF has also opened its doors to animators with the inclusion of the Animation category. The contest is open to all Filipino professional and/or student/ amateur animators. Entries must have a maximum running time of 12 minutes and have not in any way been commercially shown here or abroad. The winners will receive P100,000 for Best Picture and P50,000 for the Special Jury Prize.

Entries to the Full Feature category should not have been featured in other local and international festivals and must have a total running time of  75 minutes. Prizes include P300,000 for Best Picture; P20,000, Special Jury Prize; P50,000 each for Best Actor, Best Actress and Best Director.