MANILA, Philippines?US-based Filipino filmmaker Will Fredo, through his company Hubo Productions, has set up a film grant to discover and nurture the female voice in local cinema.
It?s a fitting undertaking for Women?s Month, he said in an e-mail interview. ?Most of the new directors from the Philippines are men. We need to create more opportunities for young female filmmakers,? explained the director of ?Compound? and ?Sa Pagdapo ng Mariposa.?
Mentorship program
He noted that women consist more than half the Philippine population. ?It?s only proper that we hear the female voice and understand it.?
Fredo related that the film grant, called Ganap na Babae, is ?open to all female writers and aspiring directors.?
?We are looking for a completed screenplay for a short film that?s 20 to 40 minutes long,? he said. ?Theme is women?s rights.?
The project was launched through the web site: http://ganapnababae.hubo.asia. Deadline for submission of entries is April 2.
He said the chosen filmmaker will be awarded P50,000 to develop a short film shot with a digital camera. ?Hubo Productions, a fully equipped production house, will provide assistance to develop the short film.?
The winner will undergo a mentorship program under two women directors, Ellen Ramos and Rica Arevalo. The two senior filmmakers will help the neophyte director finish her film.
Ramos and Arevalo ?can give a new director a step-by-step view of the filmmaking process ? from writing to distribution,? said Fredo.
The chosen short film will be included in ?Ganap na Babae,? a trilogy about women and their rights, which will start production in May.
Ramos, Arevalo and the new director will each make their own short films that will be ?woven into a cohesive whole.?
?We can?t wait to see the result of such a collaboration,? Fredo said. ?If the project is successful, and if we gain enough support now, we may start doing this yearly.?
Fredo and his partners Greg Macaraeg, Ida Tiongson, Jay Garcia, Joan Manalang and George Sommerrock consider ?Ganap na Babae? a ?good vehicle to promote Filipino artistry.?
?We hope the trilogy will spark a frank and open discussion on the plight of women in the country,? said Fredo.
