FDCP Cinematheque Iloilo to Hold Film Archiving Seminar

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By Joseph Bernard A. Marzan

To close the nationwide celebration of National Heritage Month, the Film Development Council of the Philippines’ Cinematheque Centre in Iloilo City will hold a film archiving seminar on Saturday, May 31, to promote the preservation of local and national cinema.

Aligned with the NHM’s focus on knowledge-sharing and the FDCP’s Pamanang Pelikula initiative, the seminar aims to provide filmmakers, students, cultural workers and the public with insights into analog and digital preservation practices.

It also seeks to explore the feasibility of establishing a local or regional archive in Iloilo.

The event will open with a special screening of the 1978 film Gumising Ka… Maruja, directed by National Artist for Film and Broadcast Arts Lino Brocka and starring Susan Roces, adapted from the Mars Ravelo comic of the same name.

The seminar will feature three topics: “Legacy in Celluloid – The FPJ Archives and Film Restoration,” “Preserving the Present – Digital Archiving and the Philippine Film Archive,” and “Can Iloilo Build Its Own Local Film Archive?”

Jeffrey Sonora of the FPJ Archives will lead the first topic, discussing the challenges of analog archiving, restoring original film formats and the role of private-sector efforts in preservation.

Don Gervin Arawan of the Philippine Film Archive, the FDCP’s archiving program created under Republic Act 9167, will head the second topic, focusing on the government’s digital preservation efforts, available tools and regional inclusion.

Sonora and Arawan will also serve as panelists for the third topic, which will explore the cultural value of regional archiving and compare government and private sector approaches.

It will also cover strategies for creating a film archive in Iloilo and examine the roles of local governments, academic institutions and community organizations in archiving efforts. (Images from Cinematheque Centre Iloilo – FDCP/Facebook)