FDCP Channel Hosts Cine Filipina on National Women’s Month

The Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP) celebrates National Women’s Month as it holds Cine Filipina this March.

“Cine Filipina: Juana sa Gitna ng Pagbabago” is being held virtually on the FDCP Channel (fdcpchannel.ph), the FDCP’s exclusive platform that allows audiences to enjoy quality local and international content online.

Feature films, shorts, and talks on women empowerment are available throughout March on the FDCP Channel.

A total of 10 films can be viewed through video-on-demand (VOD) for only PHP 99, plus there are two Cine Filipina talks, free limited screenings of the opening and closing films, and CineMarya short films and panel discussions also for free viewing.

Cine Filipina kicked off on March 8, International Women’s Day, with the free one-time screening of “Insiang” by Lino Brocka as the opening salvo. Five titles on the different realities of women amidst change and development were also made available from March 8 to 31:

“Sonata” by Peque Gallaga and Lore Reyes
“Ang Babae sa Likod ng Mambabatok” by Lauren Sevilla Faustino
“White Slavery” by Lino Brocka
“Chasing Fireflies” by Sheron Dayoc
“Maynila sa mga Kuko ng Liwanag” by Lino Brocka

On March 15, the Official Opening of Cine Filipina will take place. The Opening Ceremonies will be streamed from 6 p.m. to 6:15 p.m. on the FDCP’s YouTube channel and Facebook pages to be followed by the one-time free screening of Brocka’s “White Slavery” from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. on the FDCP Channel.

Five more films on women empowerment and gender issues will be added to the Cine Filipina lineup on March 15 and these will be available until March 31:

“Bagahe” by Zig Dulay
“Ang Damgo ni Eleuteria” by Remton Zuasola
“Lorna” by Sigrid Andrea Bernardo
“Adela” by Adolfo Alix, Jr.
“Miss Bulalacao” by Ara Chawdhury

Short films and replays of panel discussions from the CineMarya Women’s Short Film Festival will be shown for free from March 20 to 21. CineMarya is an initiative of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) in partnership with the FDCP, Quezon City Film Development Council, and Philippine Commission on Women.

The two CineMarya film talks from the 2020 Pista ng Pelikulang Pilipino (PPP) that will be featured are:

“Women in Philippine Cinema” moderated by producer Armi Cacanindin featuring editors Tara Illenberger and Ilsa Malsi, producers Pamela Reyes and Ria Limjap, and director and cinematographer Lee Briones-Meily
“Women in Public Service” featuring FDCP Chairperson and CEO Liza Diño, DILG Undersecretary Marjorie Jalosjos, Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte, and Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB) Chair Rachel Arenas with Issa Litton as moderator

From March 27 to 28, two FDCP Film Talks on Cine Filipina will be streamed live from 6 p.m. to 7:15 p.m. on the FDCP’s YouTube channel and Facebook pages:

“Si Juana at ang Lockdown” is on women in the film industry’s vulnerable and marginalized sector and their experiences during the pandemic (March 27, Saturday).
“Women Artists in Lockdown” is on art, womanhood, and the lockdown, along with the works that were made as a response to the pandemic and the lockdown (March 28, Sunday).

The Official Closing of Cine Filipina will be held on March 31, with the Closing Ceremonies to be streamed from 7 p.m. to 7:15 p.m. on the FDCP’s YouTube channel and Facebook pages. This will be followed by the one-time free screening of closing film “Verdict” by Raymund Ribay Gutierrez from 7:30 p.m. to 10 p.m. on the FDCP Channel.

Championing women empowerment

The Cine Filipina selection consists of 12 feature films by male and female directors with unique backgrounds, milieu, and treatments representing the multiple realities and challenges that Filipinas have to deal with both in the past and present.

“This National Women’s Month, the Film Development Council of the Philippines pays tribute to all women who exhibit strength and fortitude as they continue to break barriers, stand up for causes, and bring about positive changes in society,” remarked FDCP Chairperson Diño.

“Through Cine Filipina, we hope to further the rights and welfare of women with our online film screenings and events. Our Cine Filipina film selection was curated to represent the story of every Juana — the struggles, the challenges, the triumphs — in light of gender empowerment and equality,” added Diño, who received the Special Award for Woman Empowerment from the Aliw Awards Foundation, Inc. in 2020.

Brocka’s “Insiang,” “Maynila sa mga Kuko ng Liwanag,” and “White Slavery” represent the Filipinas and their struggles from the 1970s to 1980s. In response to Brocka’s masterpieces, “Bagahe,” “Chasing Fireflies,” “Ang Damgo Ni Eleuteria,” and “Verdict” compare and contrast how issues are dealt with and how women are treated and positioned in the new society amid the new millennium.

“Lorna,” “Adela,” and “Ang Babae sa Likod ng Mambabatok” offer varying takes on the realities of older women in the country, while “Miss Bulalacao” and “Sonata” show how women’s choices on career, religion, and motherhood affect the narrative.