Group asks Council to revive Cebu cinema

What ever happened to the flourishing Cebuano film industry?

A group of film enthusiasts in Cebu is now urging the Cebu City government to create a Cebuano Cinema Development Council that would aim to develop and revive the Visayan film making industry here in Cebu.

In a letter sent to Vice Mayor Edgardo Labella last week, the group requested the City Council’s to passing an ordinance creating the Cebuano Cinema Development Council.

Douglas Hofer, convenor of the Cebuano Cinema Development Counci cited some Cebu-based filmmakers and independent production houses which have bagged awards for short and full-length independent cinemas such as Confessional (2007), Damgo ni Eleuteria (2010) Saranghae My Tutor (2011) and Di Ingon ‘Nato (2011).

These films have won various awards at the national level during the Cinema One Originals Digital Film Festival, the Gawad CCP, CineManila and the Gawad Urian, as well as internationally, in the Osian Cinema Festival-New Dehli, Jeonju Cinema Festival-South Korea, ASEAN Media Festival-Seoul, and Macabro International Cinema Festival-Mexico among others.

The Philippine Arts Festival’s Ani ng Dangal for 2012 and 2013 has also been awarded to Cebu-based moviemakers Remton Zuasola and Ivan Zaldarriaga respectively, for their motion pictures.

Hofer also said the National Commission for Culture and Arts-Cinema Committee is considering Cebu City as the next venue for their flagship event, Cinemarehiyon 2015, an exhibition and Cinema Festival that exclusively celebrates regional cinema.

“A Cebuano motion picture is not just a means to entertain a Cebuano audience, it is also an agent or access point of Cebuano society, culture and life.

A movie can serve to present uniquely Cebuano values, preserve Cebuano language and culture, persuade ideals and trends, and promote Cebu’s locales and communities as destinations,” Hofer said.

At present, there are two schools in Cebu dedicated to the practice of motion picture production: the International Academy of Film and TV and the University of San Carlos Bachelor of Fine Arts in Cinema.

Cinema heritage

Cebu has a deep cinema heritage; being the second Philippine city to host the French cinematographic apparatus in the early 20th century.
From then until the 1970’s, Cebuano movies ran parallel or more popular than Tagalog and international movies to the audiences in the province and region.

But due to the economic challenges during the 1980s, the production of Cebuano movies came to a near standstill save for a rare set of attempts using the then more-affordable TV technology to make movies.

However, in the 2000s, there has been a revitalization as Cebuano movies are being produced on a low budget, and using the now more advanced yet cost-effective video technology.

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