ShoDocu Seminar-Workshop on Film

Last week, as I was waiting for something good to happen, I saw this post about my "Sintang Paaralan" (Dear School) PUP. I was surprised (and happy) to know that finally, we (PUPians) have our own Film Center now. I just came across their post shared in COC's group page.

I must admit, I don't really have all the info, but based on the thread on PUP-Film Center's Facebook page, they have listed some activities this year. Though they have postponed the 1st PUP National Convention on Film, moving it to 5-6 July, they will have seminar-workshop on short film and documentary film making dubbed as Shoducu on 28 April 2011 at Claro M Recto Hall, PUP Main Campus.

I asked Hector Calma of PUP-FC (I think he is one the administrators of the PUP-FC page) about the event. According to him, this activity aims to give an opportunity to the under-privileged students or professionals who have the interests on film making but could not afford to attend expensive film-related seminar-workshops and classes (which most are).

Here are the speakers for the event (reposting profiles from their respective sites, and photo-napping their pictures as well :) )

Director Jerrold Tarog on Independent Film Making

Aside from being a director, Filipino film maker and Jerrold Tarog, is also the writer, editor, composer and sound designer for most of his films. Four years after graduating from UP College of Music with a degree in Music Composition (with several semesters in film theory, 2001), he entered the world of indie films, then made his breakthrough short film, Carpool.

His debut feature, Confessional (2007) won Best Film, First Feature Category, at the 10th Osians Cinefan in New Delhi, India, and has won acclaim from local and international critics and audiences. He has since directed a handful of feature films, all garnering rave reviews, including his much-lauded first foray into mainstream film making, an episode in the horror anthology Shake, Rattle and Roll (Regal Films, 2010). He has also composed film scores for award-winning directors such as Jeffrey Jeturian, Adolf Alix and Cannes Best Director Brillante Mendoza.

Director Aissa Peñafiel on Short Film Making

Long Live the Fearless Man by Aissa Peñafiel is one of six winners of the Democracy Video Challenge, launched online and at the United Nations on 15 September 2008. The competition invited citizens around the world to engage in an online dialogue on the nature of democracy by submitting video shorts that completed the phrase "Democracy is..." She also directed a short film on Ambisyon 2010 of the ABS-CBN News Channel.

Aissa graduated from the University of the Philippines, Diliman, with a degree on Film and Audio-Visual Communication.

Director Kiri Dalena on Documentary Film Making

35-year-old visual artist, film maker, scriptwriter and human rights activist Kiri Dalena might come off as a quiet person, but it's her work that really speaks volumes for those who cannot speak for themselves or can no longer tell their stories. Her documentaries and art installations are the voice of those with no voices: victims of human rights violations. Kiri and her fellow activists from the Southern Tagalog Exposure group ruffle some dangerous feathers, but they refuse to be silenced by fear because their message is far too important. (Taken from Cosmo.ph's Fun, Fearless Female 2010 article)

One of her successful shorts was Requiem for M, which was one of the short films in the ABS-CBN News Channel (ANC) special feature amBisyon 2010. According to Film Angel of cinefilipinas.blogspot.com's synopsis, Requiem for M deals with a widow's search for justice. The wailing of Myrna Reblando sends shivers. She gets to see the place where the massacre happened. The image of the backhoe brings up memories of the gory fate of her husband and 56 other people in the Maguindanao Massacre.

Event Details:
Shodocu: A Seminar-Workshop on Short and Documentary Film Making
28 April 2011
Claro M. Recto Hall, PUP Main Campus, Sta. Mesa Manila
Whole day affair, 10AM to 5PM
Registration fee: 350Php
For inquiries, call 716.4033 or +63.927.2976143

I say this is a milestone, not just for the organization, as we make our mark in the film industry, be it in short film, full length, or documentary and journalistic film making, but for the school as well. This also paves an avenue for more film enthusiasts and aspiring film makers to appreciate film with the PUP-FC, its programs and activities.

Too bad, the date falls on a weekday, and I have work, but I wish the Center can run more programs like this in the future. I am sooo looking forward to the Film Convention in July [I hope I can squeeze it in in my sched :p].

Congratulations, PUP-FC.

c",)