That is correct. The oldest and one of the most prestigious film festivals in the world is coming to Manila.
Organized by the Biennale di Venezia in collaboration with the Italian Embassy in Manila with the support of Manila’s Società Dante Alighieri, the Italian Chamber of Commerce in the Philippines and the film Development Council of the Philippines, the event dubbed as “The Venice Film Festival in Manila” will take place from July 26 to 31 at the Venice Cineplex of the Venice Grand Canal Mall at McKinley Hill in Taguig City.
During Wednesday’s press conference that launched the festival, Italy’s ambassador to the Philippines Massimo Roscigno said The Venice Film Festival in Manila is a special edition and a “premiere” for the whole ASEAN region of the oldest film festival in the world founded in 1932.
Along with Cannes in France and Berlin in Germany, the Italian city of Venice holds the distinction of having one of the “Big Three” film festivals in the world. Roscigno added that the Manila event will feature a combination of classic and recent films that are “the very best of the Venice film festival.”
In choosing the the Venice Cineplex of the Venice Grand Canal Mall at McKinley Hill as the venue of the Manila festival, Jose Eduardo Delgado, president of Società Dante Alighieri said the Taguig-based upscale mall is “the best place to recreate the romantic experience of Venice, one of the most beautiful Italian cities” and will make the experience “more authentic and immersive.”
Three Filipino films that have been exhibited in the original Venice festival in recent years will get marquee billing, namely Francis Xavier Pasion’s “Jay,” Brillante Mendoza’s “Thy Womb” and Lav Diaz’s “Ang Babaeng Humayo,” last year’s winner of the prestigious Golden Lion award for Best Film.
FDCP chair Liza Diño-Seguerra revealed that the establishment of The Venice Film Festival in Manila was partly inspired by the frustration of Italian Chamber of Commerce in the Philippines president Sergio Boero over the absence of “Ang Babaeng Humayo” in local cinemas.
The Manila-based Boero confirmed that he had a hard time finding “Ang Babaeng Humayo” in theaters which he thought was odd considering that it won the Golden Lion in Venice and should be in Philippine cinemas for at least a month.
It was also Boero who boldly guaranteed that The Venice Film Festival in Manila will be an annual affair after Roscigno hinted that the staging of similar festivals in the future hinges on how the public would respond to this event.
In addition to the three Filipino films, the festival will also highlight the following Italian films: “Orecchie (Ears),” “Tommaso,” “Liberami (Free Me),” “Questi Giorni (These Days),” “Piuma,” “L’Estate Addosso (Worn Summer),” “Processo alla Citta (Trial to the City),” and “Profumo Di Donna (Scent of a Woman).”
Four screenings will be held every day from 12 noon to 6PM starting Wednesday, July 26. Audiences can watch the first two screenings for free while the succeeding two screenings will be for a limited price of only P50 per person.
Diño confirmed that The Venice Film Festival in Manila was also organized to allow Filipino moviegoers to experience one of the world’s most reputable film festivals in an accessible and affordable setting without leaving the Philippines. She is hopeful that other embassies will work with the FDCP for the establishment of similar undertakings (i.e. “Cannes Film Festival in Manila?” “Berlinale in Manila?’) in the near future.
The FDCP chief is likewise optimistic that the Philippines can also have its own Filipino film festivals in Italy and many other parts of the world.
