MANILA, PHILIPPINES, MARCH 15, 2021 — The FilmPhilippines Office (FPO), which is administered by the Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP), is offering filming incentives in three cycles this year in order to boost the local film and audiovisual industry and promote collaborations with international productions. 

The FilmPhilippines Incentives Program is composed of the Film Location Incentive Program (FLIP), International Co-Production Fund (ICOF), and ASEAN Co-production Fund (ACOF). Another incentive is the Film Location Engagement Desk (FLEX), which is offered all year round.

To orient interested companies on FLEX, FLIP, ICOF, and ACOF, the FPO will carry on with holding online sessions through the Workshops in Film Incentives (WIFI).

Established in 2020, the WIFI aims to engage all sectors of the film and audiovisual industry into a more in-depth understanding and training on the FilmPhilippines Incentives Program. 

There will be at least six free sessions held virtually, each focusing on a specific sector, with a duration of 1 to 2 hours. Each session will have a maximum of 15 participants. The first 15 to sign up online will be granted WIFI slots with priority given to companies registered under the FDCP’s National Registry.

The WIFI sessions will have lectures, Q&A, and an open discussion on the FilmPhilippines Incentives. The FPO came up with WIFI to further enlighten FPO and FDCP stakeholders on the mechanism and guidelines of FLEX, FLIP, ICOF, and ACOF. 

Through the WIFI, the FPO seeks to encourage Filipino companies to apply for the FilmPhilippines Incentives and create industry consciousness about line-producing and co-producing with foreign productions with the help of incentives. Additionally, the WIFI will serve as a bridge to inspire Filipino companies by sharing success stories of FilmPhilippines grantees.

The 2021 WIFI kicked off the First Cycle Sessions on March 8 with the Television and Series Session. The speakers were FilmPhilippines Office Executive Director Mirasol Cruz, FilmPhilippines Office Technical Consultant Agathe Vinson, and FilmPhilippines-Incentives Unit Manager Mil Alcain while testimonials were provided by Hannah Lagman for FLEX (“Lost Gold of World War II” Season 3) and Niko Juban for FLIP (“Survivor Russia” and “Survivor Israel”).

The Film Session, slated on March 19, will feature FilmPhilippines’ Cruz, Vinson, and Alcain as the speakers with testimonials from Tisha Paauw for FLEX (“Act Of God”) and Bianca Balbuena for ICOF (“When the Waves are Gone” and “Nocebo”).

The Second Cycle Sessions will be held in May and June while the Third Cycle Sessions will occur in September and October. The schedules are subject to change.

For more information, visit www.filmphilippines.com. For inquiries, e-mail the FPO at [email protected].