Innovate to elevate
The Dutch-Filipino film festival emphasizes the need for innovation and the arts to fight for human rights.
Two weeks ago, the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands partnered with DAKILA, an artist collective organizing the Active Vista Human Rights Film Festival, to kick off the first-ever Dutch-Filipino Film Festival at the Shang Cineplex, Shangri-La Plaza Mall. Attending was Ambassador of the Netherlands to the Philippines Marion Derckx, who explained that the theme of the festival is sustainability. “How can the Philippine-Netherlands partnership contribute to a sustainable world that promotes human dignity? We need innovation. And inspiration — which this film festival hopes to bring.”
The festival opened with the Dutch feature Those Who Feel the Fire Burning, a documentary directed by Morgan Knibbe about refugees stuck at the edge of the European border. The film, which won the Golden Calf Best Documentary Feature at the Nederland Film Festival, probes one of the most serious social problems we face today.
“Dakila’s partnership with the Dutch Embassy has always been forged by two core elements — human rights and innovations,” said DAKILA executive direc- tor Leni Velasco. “By presenting social issues beyond headlines and statistics and invoking the power of cinema, we hope that this joint endeavor will shed light on important human rights concerns and empower the Filipino audience into contributing in bringing about genuine and relevant social change.”
The Dutch-Filipino Film Festival will last until October this year, screening in cities nationwide, including Manila, Davao, Iloilo, Cebu, and Baguio.
— Maia Puyat
For more information, visit www.activevista.org.ph, www.philippines.nlembassy.org, www.facebook.com/ActiveVista and www.facebook.com/DutchEmbassyPhilippines.