THE Metro Manila Film Festival committee on Wednesday announced the names of three new members who will take over the positions vacated by executive officials who resigned in an apparent protest against the selection process for the films to be included in this year’s main competition.
Thomas Orbos, MMFF executive chairman, said the three new members were Mario J. delos Reyes, multi-awarded director and executive director of ToFarm Film Festival; Joy Belmonte-Alimurung, vice mayor of Quezon City and head of the Quezon City Film Development Council, which is in charge of the QCinema International Film Festival; and Arnel Ignacio, actor and currently assistant vice president for Community Relations and Services of Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp.
Orbos made his statement even as Rep. Lito Atienza urged independent Filipino filmmakers to capitalize on the international streaming of movies over the Internet as a way to reach a bigger audience and generate new income streams.
“If entertainment firms that provide video-on-demand services online can help struggling Filipino filmmakers make more money, and create more jobs here at home, then we are all for it,” said Atienza, a backer of the Philippine movie industry and a former three-term mayor of Manila.
Orbos said the new members of the executive committee had been tasked to implement and oversee the proper conduct of the yearly festival.
He made the announcement two days after he accepted the resignation of Ed Lejano from the Execom.
“Like Roland Tolentino who was a member of the committee, I accept Lejano’s resignation with the hope that they both would continue to respect the rules, processes and time lines they themselves crafted and agreed to adhere to,” said Orbos, who is also the general manager of the Metro Manila Development Authority, the overall organizer and the supervising body of the annual festival.
He said the remaining slots in the Execom had been kept open for other representatives of the independent cinema after a consultation meeting with MMDA officials.
Orbos said earlier that the goal of the MMFF was to secure artistic excellence as well as to provide revenues.
The MMFF beneficiaries include the Movie Workers Welfare Foundation Inc., Motion Picture and Anti-Film Piracy Council, Film Development Council of the Philippines, and the Optical Media Board.
Orbos said the MMFF 2016 failed to hit the P1 billion revenue target and collected only about P400 million in more than two weeks of screening on cinemas nationwide.