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. 

The Berlinale Co-Production Market is one of the industry counterparts of Berlin International Film Festival (more widely known as Berlinale) and with FDCP’s partnership will feature Filipino producers Alemberg Ang, Anne Prado-Magadia, Carlo Valenzona and Gutierrez Mangansakan II. It serves as a platform for industry professionals to collaborate and further their projects under international co-productions and a meeting place for producers and financiers who are already attending Berlinale. 

Alemberg Ang is a producer with a passion for socio-civic issues and its intersection with Philippine art and literature. He has collaborated with various filmmakers to produce award-winning films such as The Rapture of Fe (dir. Alvin Yapan), 2 Cool 2 Be Forgotten (dir. Petersen Vargas), and The Portrait (dir. Loy Arcenas). He regularly participates in film labs and events internationally including the Rotterdam Lab, Talents Tokyo and the Southeast Asian Fiction Film Lab (SEAFIC).

Gutierrez Mangansakan II is a Mindanawon film director, producer, screenwriter, editor, art scholar and author. He is considered a leading figure in the Regional Cinema New Wave movement in the Philippines, currently edits the film journal “New Durian Cinema,” and runs the Salamindanaw Asian Film Festival. 

Anne Prado-Magadia is the co-founder of Atom & Anne Mediaworks, a multimedia content production company. Their latest full-length feature film DAGSIN (Gravity) has seen success with 18 awards from different film festival worldwide. Prado-Magadia is particularly interested in projects that blend “Eastern” and “Western” sensibilities which has led to her participation in various Asian content markets and this year’s Berlin Co-Production Market.

Carlo Valenzona is a producer for Brillante Mendoza’s Center Stage Productions and Solar Pictures. He has collaborated with director Raymund Ribay Gutierrez to produce the short films Imago (2016) and Judgment (2018), as well as the award-winning feature film Verdict (2019). Aside from his collaborations with Gutierrez, he has also collaborated with Mendoza to produce the award-winning Alpha: The Right to Kill (dir. Brillante Mendoza, 2018) and Mindanao (2019)

With the Market’s Visitors Programme for Filipino producers, the participants will be able to participate in the market’s ‘Country Sessions’ to discuss co-production work with regards to the Philippines and a series of other activities including the Visitors’ Meet and Match, Case Studies, Theme Talks, Speed Matchings, Networking Receptions, and One-on-one Meetings. They will get to network with 600 industry professionals and discuss different financing models, exchange information, and attend meetings to discuss strategies, business models, and finding common ground for potential collaboration. The group will be supported by FDCP stipend for the five-day co-production market.

This year’s co-production market will feature 36 pre-selected films from 34 countries including Filipina filmmaker Antoine Jadaone’s project Boldstar, which received funding from FDCP under its Film Development and Support Division. Jadaone’s Boldstar has seen success in film markets around the world and will be making its European market premiere in Berlin. 

The Berlin Co-Production Market will also serve as an opportunity for FDCP to introduce its recent major initiative, the FilmPhilippines Financial Incentive program to the European Film Market. Under this program, international productions that bring their projects to the Philippines and work with Philippine companies can receive financial incentives under the Film Locations Incentive Program (FLIP) or International Co-Production Fund (ICOF). FLIP provides Philippine line-production companies who work with international productions a cash rebate, and ICOF provides funding for projects co-produced by Philippine and international production companies.

Berlinale runs from February 20 to March 3 in Berlin, Germany.

FDCP Distribution and Exhibition Division Head Anna Abalahin and FDCP staff at Sinag Maynila

In line with the festival tagline’s emphasis on bridging Philippine and international cinema, Sinag Maynila 2020 will partner with the Rome-based Asian Film Festival (AFF) for an exchange of feature films between the two festivals. Two films from AFF, La paranza dei bambini by Claudio Giovanessi and Dafne by Federico Bondi will also screen during the Sinag Maynila’s festival run. Alternately, AFF will open with Mindanao and other Sinag Maynila films to be announced soon.

Sinag Maynila 2020 opening night takes place on March 17 at The Podium and will feature a screening of the digitally restored and remastered 1985 Lino Brocka masterpiece, White Slavery. Public screenings start March 18 in different venues to be announced. The festival winners of the full-length, short film and documentary competitions will be announced at the Gabi ng Parangal on March 22 at the Conrad Hotel. Sinag Maynila concludes the following day March 23 with a closing night event at The Podium.