Filipino animation talents Unboxed

MANILA, Philippines –  “There is no dearth of creativity and talent in the Pinoy scene as far as animation is concerned,“ said Ivan John Uy, chairman, Commission on Information and Communications Technology (CICT) at the launch of “Unboxed! A Collection of Works From Some of the Philippines Most Inspired Creatives,” held recently.

The launch took audience members’ breaths away with a sneak peek into educational video games and animated movies developed by animators under the CICT’s Creative Content Development Project (CCDP).

CICT-CCDP hopes to inspire young people to produce their own quality animated work, among other projects, as long as they showcase Philippine history, culture, folklore and mythology.

“There is no dearth of creativity and talent in the Pinoy scene as far as animation is concerned,” said Ivan John Uy, chairman, Commission on Information and Communications Technology (CICT) at the launch of “Unboxed!”

“Recently we sponsored an animation workshop for public high school students in Legazpi City so that we can inspire and inform these students that, yes, the Filipino can make quality animated films, right in his own country,” said Leanna Beltran, project manager of the CICT CCDP. “The results from these workshops have been truly encouraging.”

The projects launched at SM Megamall Cinema 1, namely: an interactive educational game called Jeepney ni Jan-Jan, an introduction to the history of Philippine animation and instructional video on producing animation called “From Lines to Life,” and an animated film based on local mythology called Pasintabi will now be part of every standard set of instructional materials given out to budding animators in public high schools in future workshops.

The centerpiece of “Unboxed” was Pansintabi. It had vivid imagery provided by a 3D animated background in a 40-minute film. The film showed that Filipino cartoons can be on par with animation greats like Pixar.

A wild ride: Jeepney ni Jan Jan takes young gamers on a cultural field trip. This interactive game puts them on board a flying jeepney soaring above a 3D map of the Philippines.

“Uboxed showcases that, with a little wishful thinking, and an enormous amount of dedication  and a healthy dose of inspiration, talent and creativity, along with technology of course  this is what the Filipino can achieve,” added Uy. “And this is only the beginning!” 

The “Unboxed” launch was supported Smart Communications, Dcinema Inc and Arrays Technology, flipbook@digizines.com, PLDT SME Nation, Breadtalk and C2.