Started in 2013, CineKasimanwa: The Western Visayas Film Festival has gone a long way of celebrating and promoting local filmmakers and their crafts. The festival gathered various artists who share the same passion and bring in enthusiasts to enjoy the works of their friends and kasimanwas.
CineKasimanwa is the brainchild of an awarded Ilonggo filmmaker, multidisciplinary artist and film curator Elvert de la Cruz Bañares who aside from making sure that the local films are promoted also lobbies the films to be part of different film festivals and the National Art Fair. Together with Deputy Festival Directors for the past two years, August Andong who worked as Culture and Arts Assistant II of the Broadcast Arts Division and Performing Arts Department of the Cultural Center of the Philippines and Ruth Borja Pequierda who in the past worked as the Culture and Arts officer of Broadcast, Film and New Media Arts Division, many Ilonggo film enthusiasts also joined CineKasimanwa as volunteers to help disseminate information, invite people to watch the films and help the Festival Director conduct film appreciation workshops at universities. This is to ensure that everyone in Western Visayas is reached and informed about “their” festival. It is through these opportunities of having their films screened that filmmakers are encouraged to continue making films that become a medium to promote places, crafts, people, talent and culture of Western Visayas.
In the past two years, CineKasimanwa showcases mainstream, independent, new breed, documentaries, experimental and animation full length and short films in different programs namely the Moo-Moo-An sa Biyernes featuring Ilonggo horror and fantasies, the Children’s program, documentary and short film programs and the filmmakers in focus program.
The festival runs for one whole week every December in three venues, SM Cinema, FDCP Cinematheque Iloilo and UPV Cinematheque. All the films screened during the festival are made by filmmakers from Iloilo, Bacolod, Antique, Aklan, Capiz and Guimaras. It’s the time of the year that the audience can enjoy watching and be proud of films that they can call their own.
This year, the Department of Tourism Region VI together with CineKasimanwa and the Western Visayas Filmmakers Network created this Western Visayas Film Grant to help local filmmakers produce their short films on Western Visayas – its culture, the stories, and the people. Six deserving winners of the grants will receive one hundred thousand pesos to present their own stories which focus on Western Visayan heritage, folklores, beliefs, legends, and traditions in its six provinces – Aklan, Antique, Capiz, Guimaras, Iloilo, and Negros Occidental.
For 18-35 years old filmmakers from Western Visayas or for those of you who know someone who belongs in the age bracket, visit: WESTERN VISAYAS FILM GRANTS PROGRAM (Rules, Regulations & Entry Form) ► http://ge.tt/3IZ5nbD2 for further understanding of the film grant and for the full mechanics.
To know more about CineKasimanwa: The Western Visayas Film Festival please visit their page http://www.facebook.com/CineKasimanwa or email at CineKasimanwa@gmail.com.