Smartphone film contest
It is no coincidence that the first smartphone short film contest in Cebu, as far as I know, was organized by a visual communication class at the University of the Philippines Cebu.
Lack of equipment has always been a problem among state university students. Aside from most of them cannot afford to buy basic professional or prosumer filmmaking equipment of their own, the school has limited supply of these, though some upgrades have been made in recent years.
Teaching in one of the visual communication classes, I sometimes hear excuses from students that their equipment is not complete and advanced enough to come up to par with what other well-equipped amateur filmmakers can produce.
Yet given what they have, I see the potential and a good future for these students should they decide to pursue their craft, granting the industry will provide them with a sustainable environment for their art.
Early last year, I decided to make a point come across by launching together with my class, "Cellida: The Smartphone Short Film Festival." I required my BC 121 and BC 122 students in UP Cebu to form into groups of around 5 to 10 members and produce short film entries for the festival. The point of the exercise was that one doesn't have to own an expensive camera to make a good film.
In Cellida we combined two words: "Cellphone" and "Salida" (movie). It was not an original concept, for sure. There were already several smartphone short film festivals organized abroad. But I was happy that Cellida and its concept later caught the interest of some people like Msgr. Agustin Ancajas.
Then, in August last year, Msgr. Ancajas invited me to the 3rd National Church Media Convention to speak about the smartphone as a tool for communicating hope in our times. He also asked permission to borrow the title "Cellida" for their smartphone mini-film festival.
In Cellida I wanted to bring more than recognition to the ubiquitous use of smartphones in our everyday lives. As a main tool in visual story-telling, or in making videos and films, the challenge of using a smartphone lies in how one can be more creative and resourceful amid the inherent limitations of the equipment. Depth in story, form, concept, and treatment then become the focal points in filmmaking rather than technical superiority. And this was the lesson I wanted to impart to my students.
I also wanted the students to realize that the smartphone may also have advantages over the typical video camera. The smartphone is compact, handy, easy to use, and available to everybody. And for documentary filmmakers, the smartphone presents an advantage because it is less intrusive than a traditional video camera -people tend to act more natural or less conscious of themselves in front of a smartphone than with a large video camera.
My class and I managed to pull off the festival through May last year during the school's Mass Communication week celebration. The winners were awarded with slots in the Binisaya film workshop organized by Cebuano filmmaker Ara Chawdhury and her group.
This year, my students decided to launch the festival again. This time they are opening it to high school and college students in Cebu. Deadline for submission of entries is on February 18. If you are interested, you may email the organizers at [email protected] or at @cellidafilmfestival on Facebook to get more information.
In these interesting times, you can bring to life your story or make your message stand out with what you are holding in your hand -your smartphone.
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