A FILM FESTIVAL THAT HONORS THE FILIPINO FARMER
The third edition of the TOFARM Film Festival, the only advocacydriven filmfest in the country today, undergoes notable and welcome changes this year.
With the recent unfortunate demise of film director Maryo delos Reyes, who had served as the festival director for the past two years, actor-screenwriter Bibeth Orteza was tapped as the new festival director, with veteran filmmaker Joey Romero as managing director.
Short films shot entirely with mobile phones have been added to the festival, which will also feature a pitching program for the final selection of full-length film entries.
To ensure continuity of the fine mechanics established by Maryo delos Reyes, his former festival colleague Raquel Villavicencio, prizewinning scriptwriter, will head the selection committee for submitted scripts.
At a sumptuous dinner hosted by TFF festival director Bibeth last week, other filmmakers and scriptwriters involved in the festival were announced, with those in attendance presented to socio-entrepreneur
Dr. Milagros O. How, president and CEO of Universal Harvester, Inc. It was her brainchild to have a film festival with entries “showcasing the lives, journeys, trials and triumphs of the Filipino farmer.”
In fact, the reason it’s called TOFARM is that it had become the offshoot of a previous advocacy program established by Dr. How: The Outstanding Farmers awards. For 2018, the festival theme is “A Tribute to Life:
Parating Na” to “highlight the aspirations of Filipino farmers and their journey to success.” Seven fulllength films in competition will be selected by the TOFARM Film Festival Committee and will each be given P1.5M film grants for production. The director/producer may solicit additional funds to augment production costs, but TOFARM shall not be liable for reimbursement.
The members of the screening committee headed by Villavicencio are Manny Buising, Mario Cornejo, Antoinette Jadaone Tadhana and this writer. Twelve screenplays will be shortlisted.
Bibeth and Raquel stressed that Maryo’s plan to initiate a pure screenplay competition will see frui- tion. Part of the final selection process is a two-day pitching program, after which the shortlisted entries are pruned down to seven films meriting production funding.
A representative from among the usual three-person team of producer, director and scriptwriter will make the pitch for the shortlisted script. The screening committee will then factor in the project’s feasibility, and may in fact suggest appropriate changes with respect to the personnel involved.
Chosen scripts don’t necessarily have to be directed by the person who wrote it, for instance, in keeping with Maryo’s vision of having notable directors effectively push the films to completion.
Joey Romero also explained that technical difficulties that might imperil a film’s completion, given the tight timetable, would also be factored in before the final selection is made.
For the seven shorts that can run from one to 10 minutes, the selection committee headed by Raymond Red includes Cesar Hernando and Sari Dalena.
The jurors for the film competition are headed by National Artist Bien Lumbera, and will include Eric Quizon, Jerrold Tarog, Sigrid Andrea Beenardo and Dan Villegas. Tarog is of course the acclaimed director behind Heneral
Luna, while Bernardo megged the highest grossing indie film Kita Kita. Film director Villegas’ last film was Changing Partners.
The four-man executive committee of TOFARM FilmFest 2018 is composed of Dr. How as TFF executive producer, Orteza as TFF festival director, Romero as TFF managing director, and Sonny Guingab as TFF and CSR project officer.
The deadline for submission of screenplays is April 20. The shortlisted entries will be announced on May 9, with the shortlisted scripts to be pitched on May 17 and 18. The winners will be announced on May 23.
The theatrical screenings are scheduled for Sept. 12 to 18, with the awards and closing ceremony to be held on Sept. 15 at Makati Shangri-La Hotel.
The Best TOFARM Film 2018 will be awarded P500,000 and a trophy, with the 2nd Best TOFARM Film receiving P400,000 and a trophy. The Maryo J. Delos Reyes Special Awardee will also get P300,000 and a trophy, while TOFARM trophies will be given the Best Director, Best Actor / Actress , Best Supporting Actor / Actress, Best Child Performer, Best Screenplay, Best Musical Score , Best Production Design, Best Editing , and Best Cinematography.
Four copies of the requirements are to be submitted to the TOFARM Secretariat Office, 10th Floor, Harvester Corporate Center, 158 P. Tuazon corner 7th & 8th Avenues, Cubao, Quezon City.
Submission forms and the full mechanics for participation are available at www. TOFARM.org.