MANILA, Philippines - Prizewinning filmmaker, scholar and historian Nick Deocampo will launch his latest book Film: American Influences on Philippine Cinema on March 2, 5 p.m., at the Cultural Center of the Philippines, Roxas Boulevard, Pasay City. The book is Deocampo’s second volume in his continuing historical saga of Filpino cinema.
Film: American Influences on Philippine Cinema is a sequel to Cine: Spanish Influences on Early Cinema in the Philippines, and part of the Deocampo’s extensive research on Philippine cinema. It advances the author’s scholarly study of cinema’s evolution in the hands of Americans.
As part of the launching program, Deocampo’s new digital documentary, Cine: Spanish Influences on Early Cinema will be screened. The documentary in 3D animation is about the beginnings of cinema in the Philippines and is based on Deocampo’s awardwinning book.
The book launching, which marks the 115th year anniversary of the arrival of film in the Philippines (1987-2012) as well as Deocampo’s 30th year anniversary as a filmmaker, signals the start of Deoocampo’s eight-month lecture series at the CCP on “The History of Philippine Cinema, touching on important issues related to cinema’s growth vis-à-vis the unfolding of the country’s national history.
The inaugural lecture begins at the book launching event on March 2 followed by subsequent lectures slated every first Friday of the month. The inaugural lecture will be on the “Colonial Beginnings of Philippine Cinema (Pre-Hollywood Cinema: The Formative Years).” Other topics to be covered are: April-“Start of Native Cinema: When did Cinema become Filipino?”; May-“Hollywood! Hollywood! Its Influence on Filipino Cinema”; June-“World War II and Its Effects on Local Cinema”; July-“The Fifties: Why It was the “Golden Age”; August-“Martial Law and a New Cinema”; September-“Alternative Independent Cinema: The “Other” Film History”; October-“Cinema in the Digital Age.”
Certificates will be awarded to participants of the seminar.
Deocampo is presently the director of Center for New Cinema. His academic credentials include a master of arts degree in Cinema Studies at the New York University under a Fulbright Scholarship Grant. He received another Fulbright Grant as an International Senior Research Fellow at the US Library of Congress. He received his Certificate in Film as a French Government Scholar at the Atelier du formacion au cinema direct in Paris. He graduated Cum Laude with a degree in A.B. Theater Arts at the University of the Philippines. A multi-awarded author and filmmaker, he is known for his gritty documentaries and personal films.
For information, call CCP Film at tel. 832-1125 local 1704 and 1705.