DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / 2 Jan) – With the thriving film industry here, the Sangguniang Panlungsod is mulling the creation of a film development council to support local filmmakers.
The proposed ordinance, introduced by Councilor Leonardo Avila III, is now undergoing committee hearings at the city council.
The proposal is for the city to create a film council chaired by the mayor, with members coming from the departments of trade and industry, education, traffic management and control board, transportation and communication, as well as representatives from filmmakers’ associations and the academe.
When introduced last year during Avila’s privilege speech, the measure was then endorsed to the committee on education, culture and arts chaired by Councilor Maria Belen Acosta. The latter has since manifested wanting to co-author the measure.
Acosta, during a hearing, said that the committee would recommend that the council comprise practitioners of the film industry primarily, with the logistical aspects such as trade and industry and traffic management being a secondary aspect of the policymaking body.
“We need film practitioners in that council, and the support and logistics can come in later,” she said.
The proposed ordinance also aims to create a cinema evaluation board of Davao City, which would evaluate and grade films submitted to the council subject to the rules under Republic Act 9167, or the Act creating the Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP).
Last month, more than 50 films from Mindanao joined the Mindanao Film Festival (MFF) held here. It was the longest regional film festival in the country.
MFF director Rudolph Ian Alama said during the committee hearing that the promotion of the city’s film industry would not only support the entertainment aspect of the productions but would also create jobs for every film produced and filmed in the city.