In June, the Film Development Council of the Philippines launched its initiative, Binging During Quarantine, a campaign encouraging the public to share their favorite films and series—particularly those currently available in online platforms—so that others could binge on them as well during this quarantine period. The campaign is a safe and fun way to promote our love for cinema while maintaining necessary social distancing by staying in the comfort of our homes.

With this launch, FDCP established an online platform made specifically for Binging During Quarantine where film industry personalities can share their favorite films while their fans can comment. Through the platform numerous members of the film industry, filmmakers and actors alike, have joined to share their favorite films through the FDCP’s online platform. Actor Elijah Canlas kicked off the video series by recommending his favorite films which featured films such as Ekstra by Jeffrey Jaturian, Please Vote for Me by Weijun Chen, Temptation Island directed by Joey Gosiengfiao and more. Actress Joyce Ching enjoyed Ekstra as well in her selection alongside Seven Sunday and Pay it Forward and others. 

Actress Chai Fonacier, for her part, shared her love for Born Beautiful, John n Martian, Community, SuperPsychoCebu, and her series Manilenials. Meanwhile multi-awarded actor and singer Ice Seguerra mentioned recent Netflix Philippine film releases Untrue and Lola Igna as two of his five binge-worthy films. He also shared his enjoyment of the film IP Man and the TV series Modern Family. Actor Kokoy De Santos shared his love for Francis Ford Coppola’s Godfather films, the Studio Ghibli film Spirited Away, and Philippine romance dramas The Hows of Us and One More Chance.

Award-winning actress Cherie Gil took note of the late Peque Gallaga’s works Oro, Plata, Mata, and Sonata as well as a Turkish TV series available on Netflix titled Resurrection. While producer and actress Iana Bernardez shared her favorite local award-winning films which included Pamilya Ordinaryo, Heneral Luna, Sunday Beauty Queen, and Si Chedeng at si Apple. Fellow fan of Pamilya Ordinaryo was John Lapus, who also selected John Denver Trending and Working Beks as some noteworthy films to watch.

Jameson Blake recommended Christopher Nolan’s Interstellar alongside Filipino films Ang Babaeng Allergic sa Wifi and BuyBust. While actor Jan Silverio agreed with BuyBust and also recommended various Mikhail Red films such as Birdshot and Hintayan ng Langit. Meanwhile, actress Yam Conception recommended Bliss by Jerrold Tarrog and #WalangForever in her five film selections. To find out more about the picks of these film industry personalities click here to visit the official Binging During Quarantine page and here to visit the FDCP Binging During Quarantine YouTube playlist.

Apart from these film industry recommendations, we at FDCP have also been binging on films and reacting to them through movie reviews and articles. These have included reviews on the late Anita Linda’s works Sta. Nina and Adela, romantic films such as I’m Drunk I Love You and Dear Other Self, classics such as Oro, Plata Mata, and Bayaning 3rd World contemporary indie releases such as Birdshot and Signal Rock and more. To read these reviews, click here.

Of course, these aren’t the only films to be binging on this quarantine period. Due to the unfortunate circumstances of the pandemic, many film festivals have been forced to cancel their physical events. However, this has led to innovative ways of online streaming as festivals move into various online platforms for their 2020 edition. Through these online platforms, the festivals have elected to provide the public with numerous free screenings. Keep up to date on such screenings by following FDCP on its social media platforms. To visit FDCP's official facebook page, go to https://www.facebook.com/FDCP.ph

Here’s to more Binging During Quarantine!