The Film Academy of the Philippines is being revamped to strengthen its core missions of campaigning for Philippine cinema at the Oscars and other awards ceremonies, as well as protecting film workers’ rights.
Headed by filmmaker Paolo Villaluna, the academy was in Cannes last week to meet with film agencies, festivals, awards organisations and campaign strategists, as well as international film worker guilds.
The organisation says it has four major mandates – guild support, worker training, awards and honors, and worker protection – as well as a longer term aim to expand training opportunities, international access and practical support for Filipino film workers and the guilds that represent them.
“This is our first full year operating in our new form as a government agency, and the trip to Cannes is a necessary first introduction to the wider global film community. We hope to bring the world’s resources and expertise back home to benefit our workers and industry,” said Villaluna in a statement.
“Cannes puts us in the same place, at the same time, as the institutions we want to work with for years to come: film agencies, festivals, training bodies, our regional neighbors. Our job is to make sure local workers and filmmakers have stronger systems behind them, ensuring that we are at par with global standards, and these meetings are part of figuring out how to do that.”
The Film Academy of the Philippines has been restructured as a Philippine government agency with responsibility for guild recognition and support, training and professional development, legal aid and grievance assistance through its Sine-Sandigan and Sine-Legal programs, implementation of the Eddie Garcia Law on film worker rights, the Luna Awards, and the Philippine submissions to the Oscars.
Villaluna and Kristine Kintana, head of the Academy’s Film Awards and Events Division, met with Tom Swayne of the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in Cannes to discuss the Oscars submission process, awards strategy, and the long-term capacity needed to support Philippine films in major international awards circuits.
“A serious Oscars campaign takes resources and connections to build,” said Kintana. “You need experts inside the awards body who actually champion your work. You also need the right professionals running the operation – managing screenings, handling press, getting screeners to the right voters, staying on top of a long campaign. Filipino films can hold their own in major awards races, and our job is to make sure they have the government’s support to do it.”
Other meetings were held with Richard Lorber, CEO of Kino Lorber, which has North American rights to Sundance Special Jury Award winner Filipiñana; directed by the Philippines’ Rafael Manuel; France’s CNC, British Film Institute, Singapore’s Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) and Indonesia’s Ministry of Culture.
The academy is also reaching out to film worker training institutions such as Tatino Film Lab, Fest Film Lab, and the Location Managers Guild International
