Four Cannes shorts currently filming in Dapitan

CEBU, Philippines — The City of Dapitan once again grabbed the spotlight – this time on a global scale – with the Cannes Directors’ Fortnight Project now underway in this history-rich city in Zamboanga del Norte.

In this breakthrough undertaking, four short films set to be screened at the Directors’ Fortnight of the prestigious Cannes International Film Festival in France are being filmed in the famed Shrine City of the Philippines.

“We do not only promote and market our place as a sports tourism capital in Zamboanga Peninsula and a heritage place with rich natural wonders, but also as a place where movies and films are being shot following a number of movies being filmed here,” said Dapitan City Tourism Officer Apple Marie A. Agolong.

The project showcases the prowess of four Filipino directors who are working in tandem with their foreign counterparts: Eve Baswel with Gogularaajan Rajendran of Malaysia, Maria Estela Paiso with Ashok Vish of India, Arvin Belarmino with Lomorpich Rithy of Cambodia, and Don Josephus Raphael Eblahan with Siyou Tan of Singapore.

All were selected by French director and film curator Dominique Welinski, who aims to mentor budding filmmakers under the umbrella of the Directors’ Fortnight.

Welinski, who is staying in Dapitan for the duration of the filming, is co-producing the whole program with Epic Media Productions, Inc. in partnership with DW (France), Dakak Resort, the city government of Dapitan headed by Mayor Seth Frederick “Bullet” Jalosjos, the Quezon City Film Commission, QCinema, Anima Studios of Kroma Entertainment, the Philippines’ CMB Film Services, and Cineli Digital in France.

Apart from being a premiere tourism destination in Western Mindanao, Agolong said Dapitan also takes pride in helping boost the country’s film industry. In 2022, they brought Cinemalaya to the city, where directors and their cast members spent four days participating in workshops and community immersions.

“It was the first time that Cinemalaya did a series of activities outside of Metro Manila. Then we had Sine Norte here in the province a year after,” said Agolong. “It was an offshoot of Cinemalaya which showed talented local filmmakers in the province.”

“Aside from our tourism being featured, our local talents and youth in the barangays also have an opportunity to participate, act and observe how professional filmmaking is done, further promoting Dapitan’s new artistic identity as the new Hollywood or Film Hub of the Philippines.”