MMFF Holding Sine-Phone Competition

MANILA, Philippines - The Metro Manila Film Festival is launching a competition among students who produce short videos using mobile phones. As a prelude to the main film festival, a Sine-Phone Film Festival for high school and college students will be held, Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) Chairman Francis N. Tolentino said. "This year, we will include students who shall participate via an accessible and affordable medium. We want to unleash the creativity and spirit of healthy competition of our youth and at the same time, instill appropriate values," Tolentino said. The theme for entries in the Sine-Phone Film Festival is "Restoring Road Courtesy Among Motorists and Pedestrians." The entries should depict values such as courtesy, discipline and respect, said Tolentino. The Sine-Phone fest will be open to high school and college students endorsed by their school principals or department heads Entries should be from three to five minutes of video using mobile phone cameras. They can be comedy, drama, or horror. Sixty entries will be accepted, 20 each from Luzon, the Visayas and Mindanao. Those who plan to enter the festival must submit scripts or outlines of proposed entries to the MMFF Sine-Phone Film Fest Committee. Once the 60 winning scripts are announced, the selected applicants can start producing their entries. Three winning entries, one from Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao shall be announced and awarded cash prizes during the Metro Manila Film Fest Awards Night held every last week of December. "The MMFF Sine-Phone Film fest promotes inclusive participation in the Metro Manila Film Fest. It's not just about commercial films. Last year, we also implemented the 'New Wave' Section for independent film producers," said Tolentino. Entries shall be uploaded to the MMFF Facebook, Twitter and Youtube accounts. Online votes shall form part of the awarding criteria.