About the Festival
Now on its 8th year, Pelikultura: The Calabarzon Film Festival continues to provide a venue for Region IV- A’s budding and experienced independent filmmakers to showcase their digital films that tell stories from home. These narratives weave a diverse and vibrant culture that is surprisingly distinct from the nearby metropolis.
Pelikultura, as a significant part of Cinema in the Regions, the flagship program of the Cinema Committee of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) that highlights independent films produced in different regions as alternative cinema, is at the forefront of Philippine Cinema together with other regional film festivals. These different regional film festivals, in turn, comprise what is now the Philippine national cinema.
With this year’s festival theme, “Imagining Landscapes Beyond”, Pelikultura seeks to showcase the narratives that weave a diverse and vibrant culture from the mixed urban and rural spaces of Calabarzon as a region.
A festival that hailed the award-winning and internationally-acclaimed short films, such as Wawa (2015) by Anj Macalanda and Nakaw (2017) by Noel Escondo and Arvin Belarmino, Pelikultura strives to nurture a ‘Calabarzon Cinema’ for the entire country and the whole world to see.
All film submissions for competition and exhibition may be shortlisted in the Calabarzon program of Cinema Rehiyon 2018, a national film festival of regional cinemas to be held in Manila. These chosen films will be screened along with other outstanding films from other regions. The filmmakers may also become official delegates to Cinema Rehiyon where they can meet their fellow regional filmmakers and some well-known festival programmers.
Filmmakers who wish to submit entries may explore any of, but not limited to, the following categories in their work for the festival:
1. FOLK CULTURE/HERITAGE
Film submissions may be based on local folk culture, which includes, but is not limited to, topics such as folk practices, rituals, traditions, beliefs (spiritual, religious or superstitious), folklore (riddles, stories, songs), legends and myths, some of which may still be believed by locals at present.
2. HISTORICAL ADAPTATIONS
While folk culture is a product of imaginative minds, historical events are a product of actual encounters, not only in the past but also in recent times. Film submissions may be based on actual historical events, well-known or not. It may be a story of an individual, a local hero, a family in town, or the community itself.
3. THE STORY OF A PLACE
A film submission may focus on a place, its character revealed by the lives of people in it. It may be as small as a barrio, an island or as big as a town or province. It may also be a street, an alley, a corner, a crossing and the stories forged in these spaces.
4. MODERN REALITIES
Modern realities may be depicted in the films submitted to the festival. It may tackle everyday stories of children, men and women, family or community related to broader social issues, such as poverty and violence in all forms, environmental issues, developmental issues, etc. The idea is to contextualize local narratives.
5. ADVOCACIES
Film submissions may tackle political issues significant to a specific locale. It may be a struggle of a marginalized sector of your province--farmers, fisher folks, elderly, women, gays and lesbians, children and youth. This category might overlap with other categories.
Registration is free. For complete guidelines and other details, interested parties may visit Facebook page of the festival organizer: www.facebook.com/uplbpelikuLAB and Pelikultura FB at www.facebook.com/pelikultura.calabarzonfilmfestival or contact 0915-888-7118 // (049) 536-9259.
Pelikultura is brought to you by UP Los Baños and PelikuLAB, the media arts division of Samasining, Department of Humanities-UPLB. It has been part of Cinema in the Regions, the flagship program of the Cinema Committee of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) that highlights independent films produced in different regions as alternative cinema.
FOR MORE INFO, CONTACT US AT pelikulab@gmail.com