Dingdong Dantes, Angel Locsin, Alden Richards, Arjo Atayde, and Gloria Romero will be honored at the 5th Film Ambassadors’ Night (FAN 2021) to be held on February 28, Sunday at 8:00 p.m.
This is an online event related to the celebration of National Arts Month. It can be streamed for free on the FDCP Channel of the Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP).
Among the 60 honorees and awardees are Cristine Reyes, Ruby Ruiz, Elijah Canlas, Louise Abuel, Lovi Poe, Allen Dizon, Isabel Sandoval, Cherie Gil, Alfred Vargas, Angel Aquino, and Ronwaldo Martin.
FAN 2021 is supported by the Cultural Center of the Philippines. CCP’s resident symphony orchestra, the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra (PPO), will participate.
PPO will perform production numbers with Bamboo, Tres Marias (Bayang Barrios, Cooky Chua, and Lolita Carbon), Bituin Escalante, Beverly Salviejo, Karla Gutierrez, Lawrence Jatayna, and The Pogi Boys.
The unique numbers of Ice Seguerra, Juris Fernandez, Princess Velasco, Sitti, Richard Poon, Kean Cipriano, and Duncan Ramos are also remarkable.
The FAN, an annual event spearheaded by the FDCP since 2017, recognizes Filipino film industry creatives, artists, filmmakers, and films of various formats that gained recognitions from established international film festivals and award-giving bodies in the past year.
Dingdong Dantes and Alden Richards won the Asian Star Prize at South Korea’s Seoul International Drama Awards. This is for the teleserye Descendants of the Sun (GMA Network) by Dingdong, and for the movie Hello, Love, Goodbye (Star Cinema) where Alden is paired with Kathryn Bernardo.
Arjo Atayde won Best Actor at Singapore’s 3rd Asian Academy Creative Awards for the iWant series Bagman.
The stars of the movie Kaputol, Cherie Gil, Alfred Vargas, Angel Aquino, and Ronwaldo Martin won the Best Performance Award at the 4th Innuendo International Film Festival in Milan, Italy.
Allen Dizon and Lovi Poe won Best Actor and Best Actress, respectively, at the International Film Festival Manhattan in the USA for their movie Latay.
Elijah Canlas won Best Actor at the 17th Asian Film Festival in Rome, Italy for the movie Kalel, 15.
Louise Abuel won Best Actor at the 18th Dhaka International Film Festival of Bangladesh for the movie Edward.
Ruby Ruiz won Best Actress at the Harlem International Film Festival 2020 in New York, USA, as well as at the 6th Herat International Women’s Film Festival in Afghanistan for the movie Iska.
Cristine Reyes won Best Actress at the 40th Fantasporto (Oporto International Film Festival) in Portugal for the movie Untrue.
Isabel Sandoval won Best Actress at the 18th Pacific Meridian International Film Festival of Russia for the movie Lingua Franca.
Cinemadvocates is a special segment of FAN 2021 to honor the champions of the welfare of film workers, and development of the industry.
The six FAN 2021 Cinemadvocates are Dingdong Dantes, Angel Locsin, Pangasinan 4th District Representative Christopher “Toff” de Venecia, National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) Chairman and Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) President Arsenio “Nick” Lizaso, Lockdown Cinema Club, and Inter-Guild Alliance.
The Gabay ng Industriya Award is also a new citation.
Cinematography icon Romy Vitug will receive the Haligi ng Industriya Award, and legendary actress Gloria Romero will be presented with the Ilaw ng Industriya Award.
Congratulations to the honorees!
Apart from such ceremonial gatherings, the FDCP’s position is also awaited in the confusion over the opening of cinemas.
The FDCP has been silent about the closure of ABS-CBN, and the renegotiation of its franchise which has caused many of our colleagues in the industry to lose their jobs.
We also heard from the members of the Inter-Guild Alliance that the FDCP apologized for the lack of extensive consultation with the guilds and other industry players that caused the misunderstanding before.
PERHAPS, it is just focusing on the developmental work of their work.
Unfortunately, FAN 2021 coincides with the new date of Ate Regine’s digital concert Freedom. I’ll just get to know who can watch FAN 2021.
The FDCP has many more plans for our film industry, but it is still unclear whether theaters will open on March 1.
In our enquiry, many are still opposed to the opening of cinemas. There is still a lot of fear. So the majority are still digital movies.
Hopefully, the FDCP can do something about it. One of the things Madam Liza and I talked about was the BL movies and series that are already being praised in other countries.
It remains to be seen if FDCP has a plan for producers to continue making good BL projects.
FDCP Chairperson and CEO Liza Diño said, “Philippine Cinema continues to thrive amid the pandemic because Filipino filmmakers and artists have not allowed the global health crisis to derail them from sharing our stories with the world.
“Through Film Ambassadors’ Night, we celebrate their efforts and applaud their achievements.” The A-Listers at FAN 2021 are filmmakers Rafael Manuel and Lav Diaz. A-Listers refer to those who have received awards at the prestigious A-List international film festivals declared by the International Federation of Film Producers Associations (FIAPF).
“Rafael Manuel was awarded the Berlinale Shorts Silver Bear Jury Prize for Filipino at the 70th Berlin International Film Festival in Germany. Lav Diaz won the Orizzonti Award for Best Director for Lahi, Hayop (Genus Pan) at the 77th Venice International Film Festival in Italy.
“The Camera Obscura Artistic Excellence Award is the highest citation awarded by the FDCP to trailblazers and legends in the industry. This year’s Camera Obscura awardees are Jun Juban of Philippine Film Studios, Inc., multi-awarded documentary Aswang by Alyx Arumpac, and former NCCA Commissioner Teddy Co.
“Juban’s Philippine Film Studios, Inc. has been a very important figure in the country’s film and audiovisual industry, producing and producing many films and audiovisual content, the most notable of which are the Academy Award winners Born in Ika Fourth of July and Platoon by Oliver Stone, The Bourne Legacy by Tony Gilroy, Metro Manila Film Festival Best Picture 10,000 Hours by Bb Joyce Bernal, and several editions of the reality television programs The Amazing Race and Survivor.
“Arumpac’s Aswang took home the Fipresci Prize at the 2019 International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA). The full documentary won eight international awards in 2020, including Best International Feature-Length Documentary at the Festival Film Dokumenter in Indonesia , Grand Prize-Best International Feature at RIDM Montreal International Documentary Festival in Canada, Amnesty International Human Rights Award at Thessaloniki International Film Festival in Greece, and White Goose Award (Grand Prize) at DMZ International Documentary Festival in South Korea.
“Teddy Co, a former NCCA Commissioner of Arts and Chairman of the National Committee on Cinema, is a director, curator, and archivist. He has been instrumental in the repatriation and restoration of lost films by Manuel Conde, Gerardo de Leon, and Nonoy Marcelo, our others.
“He is the founder of Cinema Rehiyon, which he continues to curate, and he is a selection committee member for Cinemalaya, Cinema One Originals, and QCinema International Film Festival.
The Feature Films category has six awards: Sunshine Family by Kim Tai-Sik, Write About Love by Crisanto Aquino, Latay (Battered Husband) by Ralston Jover, Pan de Salawal by Che Espiritu, Lingua Franca by Isabel Sandoval, and John Denver Trending by Arden Rod Condez.
“Honorees in the Director category are Maria Diane Ventura for Dein Fabre, Mallorie Ortega for The Girl Who Left Home, and Derick Cabrido for Clarita.
“FAN has other categories such as Short Films, Documentaries, Creative Awards, and Special Citation. The two Special Citation recipients are veteran television and film director Luisito Lagdameo Ignacio, and the late filmmaker and International Film Festival Manhattan co-founder Gerry Balasta “.
