BACOLOD CITY -- Sixty-eight short and full-length films will be shown during Bacollywood: Cinema Rehiyon 2012, a National Independent Film and Video Art Festival, from Feb. 8 to 11 in this city.

ALESSANDRA DE ROSSI in a scene from Busong

For the fourth time, the non-competition film festival, will showcase some of the best works by regional filmmakers from Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao.

The event, a pilot project of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) Committee on Cinema, is part of the Philippine Arts Festival 2012, celebrating National Arts Month in February, and will be presented in cooperation with Crossing Negros Cultural Foundation, Inc. headed by multi-awarded film director and screenwriter Peque Gallaga.

"The filmmakers are providing the unique flavors of their regions to these films," said Miguel Rapatan, head of the NCCA Committee on Cinema, during a press briefing here Tuesday.

Mr. Gallaga, whose short film Tamawo will be shown during the festival, said Cinema Rehiyon is "important because it’s a cultural thing" and the films tell stories that enable people to recognize their own identities. "[This] is a venue of self-expression of people of the regions," he added.

Of the 68 films, 29 are Visayan productions while 21 are from Luzon, and 10 are from Mindanao. Ten Bacolod shorts will open the festival on Feb. 8 at Robinsons Movieworld Cinema 4.

One of the full-length features is Busong by Palawan’s Auraeus Solito which was recently recognized by The Wall Street Journal as among the 10 best Asian films in 2011.

Lawrence Fajardo’s Amok, winner for Best Sound and Editing in the 2011 Cinemalaya film fest, will be shown on Feb. 11, while Jay Abello’s Pureza, a feature-length documentary on the sugar industry in Negros, will cap the festival.

Mr. Rapatan said the rise of digital media technology has provided these emerging filmmakers the means "to express and communicate stories about the culture and lives" of people in their regions.

He acknowledged though that "the biggest challenge for [them] is finding an audience and getting their films distributed, or how to get their films across a wider audience." 

Still, he said Cinema Rehiyon has opened doors for regional filmmakers, particularly for films like Damgo ni Eleuteria by Cebu’s Remton Zuasola and Sheika by Davao’s Arnel Mardoquio which were featured in Cinema Rehiyon 3 in Davao last year. Both films bagged several awards in the 2011 Gawad Urian, including best picture, director, music and cinematography for Damgo, and best screenplay, editing and actress forSheika.

For the first time, Cinema Rehiyon will present a video installation exhibit titled Killing Time, featuring the works of internationally acclaimed video artists Tad Ermitaño, Gerry Tan, Kiri Dalena, Bea Camacho, Kaloy Olavides, Yason Banal and Maria Taniguchi. Curated by Clarissa Chikiamco, the exhibit will open on Feb. 7 at the Negros Museum and will run until Feb. 29.

Another festival feature this year is the Cine de Barrio, in which films will be shown in several villages in Bacolod. On Feb. 8, films will be shown in Barangay 19; Feb. 9, in Villamonte; and Feb. 10, Punta Taytay. -- N. L. Guadalquiver