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10 things you need to know about Sinag Maynila

Welcome the country’s newest independent film festival.

Last February 20, the entertainment press saw the unveiling of the newest film festival in the Philippines: Sinag Maynila. It promises to feature films that reflect Filipino culture, and present social issues deserving of discussion among audiences here and abroad.

Here are Sinag Maynila’s fast facts:

1. It seeks to showcase quality and thought-provoking movies from young, non-mainstream Filipino filmmakers.

2. Its CEO and Founder is Solar Entertainment’s Wilson Tieng. The Festival Director is Cannes Palme d’Or awardee Brillante Mendoza.

3. Tieng and Mendoza personally handpicked five of the country’s reputable independent filmmakers, but only for the festival’s inaugural year.

4. It is committed to pushing boundaries. “Working with Brillante Mendoza, we hope to give our homegrown filmmakers the chance to tell the stories of Filipinos in the most compelling visual narrative possible,” says Tieng.

5. In 2016, the festival will be open to any Filipino independent filmmaker who wishes to apply for a film grant. Details of the mechanics will be announced soon.

6. The five films to be screened are:

a. “Balut Country” by Paul Sta. Ana. It follows the journey of Jun, an heir to the duck farm left to him by his late father. He must decide whether to sell the property to secure his future, or spare the land’s loyal caretakers of inevitable displacement.

b. “Bambanti” by Zig Dulay. It questions the prejudice of the rich towards the poor when a son of a househelp is suspected to have stolen the employer’s missing golden watch.

c. “Imbisibol” by Lawrence Fajardo. It tells the tale of illegal Filipino immigrants in Japan and their plight to evade authorities.

d. “Ninja Party” by Jim Libiran. It is a coming of age story of two teenage coeds who find themselves in a compromising situation when they get involved in secret debauchery.

e. “Swap” by Rempton Zuasola. It takes us to the internal conflict of a young father, torn between solving a crime and committing another crime when one day his only son is kidnapped and the criminals demand him to steal another kid in exchange of his son’s life.

7. The films are scheduled for screening on rotation basis daily from March 18 to 24 in a designated SM Cinema in SM Megamall, SM North Edsa, SM Manila, SM Fairview, SM Southmall, SM Mall of Asia and in SM Aura Premier.

8. After the festival period, the films will be screened in other SM Cinemas as well as in universities and colleges.

9.  The Awards Night will be held on March 21 at SM Aura Premier Sky Park. The festival will be recognizing excellence in Film, Direction, Performance, Screenplay, Cinematography, and Production Design. SM will be giving a special citation to the People’s Choice movie.

10. Sinag Maynila is on social media:
Facebook - Sinag Maynila
Twitter - @SinagMaynila
Instagram - @SinagMaynila
Official hashtag - #SinagMaynila