MANILA, PHILIPPINES, JUNE 9, 2021 — With its goal to support Filipino scriptwriters develop innovative stories that will not only resonate with the Filipino audiences but can be embraced globally, the Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP) conducted the first scriptwriting consultation session for grantees of the CreatePHFilms Fund for Scriptwriting from May 18 to June 6.

CreatePHFilms is a funding program administered by the FDCP to encourage quality local films through financial support for development (scriptwriting and project development), production (small budget and large budget), post-production, and film distribution.

The CreatePHFilms Fund for Scriptwriting is a selective fund of up to PHP 100,000. CreatePHFilms 2020 Cycle 1 had eight (8) grantees for scriptwriting who will receive access to at least two FDCP-led sessions with international mentors on the concept, creative issues, and developing the screenplay.

The 1st CreatePHFilms Session of Online Script Consultations, held by the FDCP in partnership with French production and consultancy company Tatino Films, featured one-on-one consultations involving script consultants Matthieu Daras, Ayman El Amir, Helen Beltrame-linné, Mmabatho Kau, and Aleksandra Świerk and the filmmakers of the eight grantees:

• “Ang Alamat ng Gumamelang Bukid” by Richard Soriano Legaspi
• “Dead Boy” by Jules Dan Katanyag
• “Magiliw (Gentle: A Carnage by the Land of the Rising Sun)” by Bor Ocampo
• “Mother Maybe” by Sonny Calvento
• “Oyayi” by Mitzi Delima
• “Silk Ties” by Wilfredo Manalang
• “Strange Natives” by Paolo Herras
• “The Fighting Filipinos” by Honee Alipio

“We believe in the potential of Filipino scriptwriters in coming up with compelling and engaging ideas that can be translated into great films. Through the CreatePHFilms Fund for Scriptwriting, we aim to empower our writers and filmmakers to create quality stories for top-notch films that will promote Philippine culture and territory,” remarked FDCP Chairperson and CEO Liza Diño.

The 1st CreatePHFilms Session of Online Script Consultations is another collaboration of the FDCP and Tatino Films, following their partnership for the First Cut Lab Philippines which began in 2019. 

The session’s orientation and consultation proper were led by Darras, who designs and oversees the First Cut Lab, Pop Up Film Residency, and Full Circle Lab. He founded and directed the European Network of Young Cinema NISI MASA, wrote for the film magazine Positif, and directed the Bratislava Film Festival. He was also the artistic director of TorinoFilmLab, delegate to the San Sebastian Film Festival, programmer for the Cannes Critics’ Week, and consultant for the Venice Film Festival.

Egyptian film producer El Amir worked as a script consultant for TorinoFilmLab, Doha Film Institute, The Film Prize of the Robert Bosch Stiftung, International Marrakech Film Festival Atlas Workshop, and The Royal Film Commission of Jordan. He implemented MAHD Film Lab, a Cairo-based script development program for filmmakers working on Arab film projects and Arab-European co-productions. As a producer, his short fiction “FAKH” was selected for official competition at Semaine de la Critique of the 2019 Cannes Film Festival, and “Happily Ever After” premiered at the 2016 International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA).

Beltrame-linné was a corporate lawyer before attending Film Studies in Paris from 2005 to 2006. She joined Zazen Produções for the independent distribution of Brazilian all-time box office record holder, “Elite Squad: The Enemy Within.” In 2014, she became the CEO of The Bergman Center Foundation in Fårö and festival director of the Bergman Week for three years. After serving as the editor for Folha de São Paulo, Beltrame-linné has been dedicated to screenwriting and film consulting.

With a career of more than 15 years, Mmabatho Kau is a producer, broadcast and development executive, and script consultant for films. She worked in a public service broadcast environment and commercial pay television environment. She produced drama series, reality shows, and lifestyle shows for various broadcasters in South Africa. Her company, Raindrop Media, aims to develop and make film and TV projects which tell African stories with strong global resonance.

Rounding up the roster of script consultants is Aleksandra Świerk, who has assisted in developing almost 100 scripts. She has collaborated with top Polish animation producers such as Animoon, EGoFILM, and Badi Badi. She has co-funded Atelier Scenariuszowe, the Polish script development workshop dedicated to emerging writers developing their first or second feature. She has been tutoring for script workshops and has been working for selection committees and jury panels, including Krakow Film Festival, ScriptWars Award, One Movie Project, TorinoFilmLab, Less Is More, and Sources2.

CreatePHFilms 2020 Cycle 1 had 22 grantees with allocated funding totaling PHP 12.1 million. Aside from the eight grantees for scriptwriting, there were four for script development, three for small budget production, two for large budget production, and five for post-production. For more information, email [email protected] or visit www.fdcp.ph/CreatePHFilms.