Mapping Sinedisipulo: Elevating Cinema from Visayas and Mindanao
Mapping Sinedisipulo: Elevating Cinema from Visayas and Mindanao
Feature art by Abigail Manaluz
From its meek beginnings in 2012, the Sinedisipulo Film Festival has evolved and thrived into a space where fresh stories from the regions stir together into life.
Hosted by CINEMATA, the University of San Carlos' (USC) cinema organization, the film festival showcases the creative pulse of student filmmakers from the Visayas and Mindanao, bringing together emerging and established creatives and elevating regional cinema to promising heights.
Sinedisipulo was founded by the pioneering batch of USC’s cinema program, mapping out its early years as an intercollegiate competition in Cebu. Starting out as a single-day exhibition held at small venues like Handuraw Pizza in Mandaue City, the festival has gradually expanded its reach, finding new spaces to house a variety of regional films.
The film exhibition’s turning point was when it opened its doors to filmmakers outside Cebu last year, extending its invitation to the wider Visayas and Mindanao regions.
CINEMATA’s president, Owen Lepiten | Taken from CINEMATA's Facebook page
CINEMATA president and Cinema junior Owen Lepiten was among those who put forward the idea of opening the exhibition to Mindanaoan filmmakers, noting a dry period in Cebu’s pool of submissions due to the limitations brought about by the pandemic.
“At that time, Mindanao already had multiple running festivals such as the Mindanao Film Festival,” Lepiten said. “They had a more thriving film industry and so for us students, I initiated that we should open it to Mindanao and Visayas so that we can have an influx of entries.”
They further stated their intention to establish it as a festival for the regions, highlighting the need to amplify regional stories beyond the already-bustling film community in Luzon.
Gazing into the 13th Sinedisipulo Film Festival
Sinedisipulo XIII Film Festival on its third day | Taken from CINEMATA Facebook page
This year’s edition, with the theme “Elevating cinema from the regions,” ascended to new heights in its transition from a one-day film exhibition to a three-day film festival.
Lepiten shared that they now received multiple entries from Cebuano filmmakers, which they believe was influenced by the previous year’s inclusion of Mindanaoan entries.
“It’s way bigger because it’s three days, two venues, and there are awards and a competition,” he said.
Sinedisipulo XIII was divided into three sets: "Portraits of the Departed" for Set A, featuring shorts that evoke the lingering presence of those who have gone; "Currents and Crossroads” for Set B, highlighting films that show the poignant stories from the coastline and on the road, and the humor found in the mundanity of everyday life; and "Strange Encounters, Familial Longings" for Set C, with films that delve into the deep-seated desire for human connection.
The opening was held at the University of the Philippines Cebu’s Lawak Sinehan, where the first lineup of films was screened. The latter two sets were screened on the second day, coupled with a special Q&A session with the filmmakers. The festival concluded at the Cebu Making Space and rolled all the sets of films leading to the awards’ night.
Sinedisipulo XIII Film Festival Awards’ Night | Taken from CINEMATA Facebook page
Driven by its vision, CINEMATA navigated a challenging path since November of last year as the organization grappled with hurdles in funding and securing venues, all while exhausting every available resource.
“We reached out to some schools for the screening venue. We considered those prospects, but it was hard to achieve in a very short span of time,” Lepiten said. “We then found UP Lawak Sinehan with one of the supporters of Cebuano cinema, who is Atty. Grace Lopez.”
“She welcomed us there and then eventually, we found Cebu Making Space, which is also founded by the USC alumni. They were also very willing to welcome this festival into their homes,” he added.
And it was also a new experience for Lepiten and the CINEMATA team to organize film festivals.
“We wanted to take up the challenge since it’s a learning experience,” Lepiten said. “At the same time, we want to really see how we can maximize our capacities in order to give voice and make Sinedisipulo bigger compared to how it was originally made to be.”
Firm in the goal to amplify the voices from the regions, they were eager to open opportunities for young filmmakers, reflecting on how they were once students who shared the same desire for their works to be seen and appreciated in festivals like Sinedisipulo.
USC CINEMATA’s Officers | Taken from CINEMATA Facebook page
“It’s a learning experience for everyone because they can learn from the established ones and the established ones can learn from the aspiring ones,” Lepiten said. “And we in turn can learn from all the entries and all the filmmakers that are treating this festival as a debut.”
Witnessing how up-and-coming filmmakers found their voice, CINEMATA realized that this year’s Sinedisipulo gave them a clearer glimpse into what more they could do to truly elevate the regional film industry.
“As you know we really lack funding, we really lack support from our LGUs, so it’s important that initiatives like these are made to highlight talent and skill from the Mindanao and Visayas,” Lepiten said.
This year's Sinedisipulo's growth into a film festival echoes the message of Joaquin Perocillo's Cinebuano: that is for Cebu, with its rich history of cinema, to have its own Cinematheque, where regional stories would finally have their home.
The Sinedisipulo XIII Film Festival ran from February 20 to 22.
