The international film festival season is about to kick off with a bang, starting with the first A-List fest of the year, the Berlin International Film Festival or Berlinale. The Berlinale in Germany is among the Big Three of international film festivals alongside Venice in Italy and Cannes in France. It will take place from February 20 to March 1. On its 70th year, the Berlinale is set to welcome back the Filipino contingent headed by the Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP).

The second leg of the Southern Voices Film Lab (SOVOLAB) has kicked off in Davao City this month, continuing the tradition of Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP) of boosting regional cinema by creating an exclusive platform for filmmakers from Mindanao. SOVOLAB is an intensive script and development lab for Mindanaoan filmmakers that aims to discover indigenous stories from the South and empower the voices of Mindanao.

In line with its mandate to encourage the production of quality films and promote Filipino filmmaking in international platforms, the Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP) will be showcasing four (4) Filipino producers during the Berlinale Co-Production Market through the festival’s Berlinale Co-Production Market Visitor Programme on February 22-26 in Berlin, Germany. 

Following its official press conference held Monday, February 17 at The Podium Hall in Mandaluyong, the sixth edition of the Sinag Maynila Independent Film Festival is ready to take place this year from March 17 to March 24. The film festival will screen in select cinemas across Metro Manila alongside other events and film talks held in partnership with the Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP) that are scheduled to run through the month of March.

For the second year in a row, a Filipino film has been chosen to take part in the Southeast Asia Fiction Film Lab (SEAFIC). Filipino director Zurich Chan and producer Gale Osorio’s project Cangrejos joins four other projects from fellow Southeast Asian filmmakers as the five selections at this year’s SEAFIC.

A total of 69 honorees were recognized at the 4th Film Ambassadors’ Night (FAN) hosted by the Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP) on February 9, Sunday, at the Maybank Performing Arts Theater in Bonifacio Global City, Taguig City. These included 66 filmmakers, actors, and films that gained international accolades in 2019, plus three Philippine Cinema icons who received the highest honor from FDCP, the Camera Obscura Artistic Excellence Award.