Advisories & News
Press Release
PHILIPPINE CONSULATE GENERAL SPEARHEADS FIRST FILIPINO FILM CARAVAN IN TORONTO
2024-10-03
Left to right- Siné Institute President Michaelangelo Masangkay, Consul Katrina Isabelle Borja-Martin, FDCP Executive Director of Film Philippines Joierie Pacumio, Consul General Angelica Escalona, FDCP Executive Assistant Marian Torre and Consul Rodney Jonas L. Sumague
28 September 2024 – The Philippine Consulate General in Toronto in partnership with Siné Institute, York University and the Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP) organized the two-part Filipino Film Caravan 2024 held on 7 September at The Royal Theater and on 27-28 September 2024 at The Nick Mirkopoulos Screening Room at York University (Keele Campus).
Scheduled to coincide with the Philippine Film Industry Month and the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) which are both held in September each year, the Filipino Film Caravan is part of the Consulate General’s activities celebrating the 75th Anniversary of Philippines-Canada diplomatic relations. It was made possible through the Philippine Embassies Assistance Program (PEAP) of the FDCP.
The first installment had a very good turnout with some 369 members of the Filipino-Canadian community filling the 400-seater theater to watch the screening of the critically-acclaimed coming-of-age film Cleaners by Glenn Barit. The film, which is regarded as a paragon of Filipino contemporary film, was particularly well-received by millennials and Generation Z attendees, who said that they were able to relate to the theme of the film, which is about challenges faced by Filipino youth in the Philippines.
For the second installment, members of the Filipino-Canadian community, faculty members and students of York University were treated to both classic and contemporary Filipino cinema through the screening of the short film Living Things and feature film Ma’Rosa on 27 September, and the short documentary In Paglayag, feature film Tale of the Lost Boys, and feature documentary A Piece of Paradise on 28 September. The viewers, especially first and second generation immigrants in Canada, applauded the documentary A Piece of Paradise, which was reminiscent of their own challenges when they migrated to Canada.
Both events opened with a video message from FDCP Chairman Jose Javier Reyes, which highlighted the importance of film in promoting greater understanding between the Philippines and Canada and of the Filipino-Canadian diaspora. “It is through the medium of film that we can grasp each other’s mindsets better… that the Filipino and the Canadian can understand each other better, but more so for the Filipino-Canadians to understand their Filipino roots and for the Filipinos back home to understand the voice of you Filipino-Canadians,” Chairman Reyes emphasized.
FDCP Executive Director of Film Philippines Joierie Ann Pacumio, who was in Toronto to attend and support Philippine films featured at the TIFF, also took the Caravan as an opportunity to provide attendees information on incentives and co-production opportunities available for foreign filmmakers in the Philippines. This year’s TIFF featured Filipino films Bona, Sunshine and Vox Humana, and Filipino co-produced films, Viet and Nam and Don’t Cry Butterfly.END
Left to right: The signage at The Royal Theater of the Filipino Film Caravan; FDCP Executive Director Joierie Pacumio giving a talk on film incentives and co-production opportunities available for foreign filmmakers in the Philippines. Below: Moviegoers at The Royal Theater.
Members of the Filipino-Canadian community, faculty members and students at York University during the two-day Filipino Film Caravan at The Nick Mirkopoulos Screening Room