Almost one week after the resignation of three members of the Executive Committee of the Metro Manila Film Festival made headlines, a fourth member has resigned from the same committee.
Ed Lejano, executive director of the Quezon City Film Development Council and festival director of the QCinema International Film Festival, confirmed to InterAksyon on Saturday that he had indeed submitted his resignation to the MMFF Execom.
Lejano, a filmmaker and screenwriter himself, furnished InterAksyon with a copy of his resignation, the complete text of which is as follows:
“This is to regretfully submit my resignation from the 2017 MMFF Execom. From early on, I was hopeful that the significant gains of the 2016 MMFF be maintained for this year. Succeeding developments with the various committees thus far, have proven otherwise. The ensuing issues resulting from the current compromise selection process make it untenable for me to remain in the committee. I firmly believe that for MMFF to truly benefit all its industry stakeholders, the finished film submission is one basic requirement that is fair and viable for all, not to mention above board. I hope you understand my position, thank you very much.”
Last Saturday, July 1, news about the resignations of three Execom members, namely broadcast journalist Kara Magsanoc-Alikpala academician Rolando Tolentino and screenwriter Ricky Lee, came out.
In a statement released on Saturday, Lejano extolled last year’s selection process.
“I still believe that the 2016 MMFF [set] the bar for a viable festival criteria for submission and selection. It provided for consistent and clear guidelines in a level playing field that is fair to all in a festival perennially plagued by controversies,” he noted.
Lejano also explained what he saw as an inherent inequality in this year’s two-tier selection process.
“After the announcement of the first four selected entries, there were issues that emerged with potentially chilling effects to the film industry. It privileges the first four titles with plenty of lead time for promotions. Come October, when the next batch of finished films are selected, only a month remains for marketing and promotions for the latter four titles. Whether indie or not, these films will have a built-in disadvantage and their limited box-office performance is already a foregone conclusion. Their playdates will be cut short if they don’t do as well as the blockbusters.”
“Who will be marginalized in this scenario? It is a vicious cycle once again at the expense of indie films and their struggle persists. Quezon City is where almost 40 percent of the theaters are located. As the head of our film commission, we’d like to have a say where our sizable amusement taxes go in the manner that is above board and transparent,” Lejano elaborated.