2011 CINEMALAYA INDEPENDENT FILM CONGRESS
July 19 – 20, 2011
CCP Tanghalang Aurelio Tolentino
Cultural Center of the Philippines

THEME:  Building Bridges for Indie Filmmaking in Asia

RATIONALE

Since the introduction of digital video technology in 2000, filmmaking with an independent spirit has grown and spread rapidly in East Asia, both north and south, producing a cornucopia of art films that have been reaping laurels in national and international film festivals and competitions.  Following the examples of Japan and China in the 1980s and 1990s, films from Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand, Singapore, and Vietnam have competed or exhibited  in prestigious film festivals around the globe. In 2009 and 2010, a Filipino and a Thai film director have consecutively won the Best Director award from the Cannes Film Festival.

But even as the alternative film continues to be showered with world accolades, they have all encountered obstacles in their respective countries which have prevented them from achieving their full potential and from achieving both critical and commercial success. Among the major setbacks confronting filmmakers in different parts of the region are : government censorship and/or general lack of encouragement and recognition, conservative worldview and value systems of religious organizations, non-existence or weakness of support from media and academe, few or inadequate exhibition venues, dearth of paying and appreciative audiences, weakness or absence of efficient schemes for promotion and distribution, and isolation of indie filmmakers from one another.  

In order to breathe new life into indie filmmaking, it is high time that filmmakers from all over the region come together to assess their situations, share their best practices in preproduction, production and postproduction,  and propose and implement measures to improve the lot of indie filmmakers in the region. In such a congenial gathering, filmmakers, producers, critics and film promoters could take steps to create a database of artists and resources, hammer out programs for the sharing of skills and technologies for filmmaking, plan and implement collaborative projects among Asian filmmakers, share strategies for establishing and fortifying national and regional film cooperatives, opening and maintaining venues for film exhibitions, developing and expanding audiences for the indie film, and initiating and maximizing participation in local and international film festivals. All these concerns may be addressed by a continuing series of festival conferences to be hosted by different countries in the region, starting with the 2011 Cinemalaya Congress.

OBJECTIVES

The 7th Cinemalaya Congress seeks:

1. To introduce the state of the national cinemas – both mainstream and alternative – of selected nations in East Asia;
   
2. To learn the best practices of indie filmmaking in each of these countries; and
3. To establish an intra-regional network that can promptly respond to the common needs of filmmakers in these countries, especially in the protection of the freedom of expression, the development of audiences, and the promotion and distribution of indie films.

CONGRESS PROGRAM AND SCHEDULE

DAY 1 (July 19, 2011, Tuesday)

DAY 2 (July 20, 2011, Wednesday)

CONTACTS

Cinemalaya Congress Director:  
Dr. Nicanor G. Tiongson

Congress Coordinator:                       
Ms. Minda Casagan

Tel:  (632) 832-1125 loc. 1702/1704/1705
Fax:  (632) 833-0267
E-mail:  mindacasagan@yahoo.com