The Association of Communication Students’ (ACtS) Film Guild is holding Cineberde Rewind, a week-long online film festival from Dec. 14-19, showcasing the top films produced by AB Communication students for the past decade.
A total of 26 films from 2009 to 2018 will be featured for free to the public through the Cineberde Rewind YouTube channel.
Some of the films to be screened are Ang Nagliliyab na Kasaysayan ng Pamilya Dela Cruz (2018 Cineberde best film and 4th Singkwento International Film Festival best short film), Sarong Aldaw (2011 Cineberde second best film and 2012 Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival finalist), and Ang Payaso at ang Prinsesa (2011 Cineberde best film and Metro Manila Film Festival best student film).
Cherie Cabungcal, ACtS adviser, explained, in Cineberde Rewind’s opening ceremony, the selection process for the films to be featured in the online film festival.
“We arrived [at] this decision of selecting films that were the top of all the batches, that way, we will have some transformation of how Cineberde journeyed through the years, and at the same time, variation of the genres, and styles and trimmed them,” Cabungcal said.
In an earlier interview, Christian de Torres, co-director of Isang Libo’t Isang Beses (2014 second best film, People’s Choice Award), said that he is looking forward to this event after knowing that their film was selected to be screened again.
“I’m very happy that they had that plan, na magkaroon ng rewind. It’s a celebration for our love for the arts, love for the film,” said De Torres.
Another film that premiered on the Monday line-up of Cineberde Rewind is Secret Menu (2018 third best film and the recipient of Cineberde Special Jury Prize ) directed by Mavic Serrano who in an earlier interview shared how the event can encourage aspiring student filmmakers to pursue their passions even in the face of difficulties.
“Regardless of what’s happening […] when you want to make a film [and] you have the passion, you have the drive, and you really care for that issue; to let others hear your voice through your film, there’s always a way upang gumawa ng pelikula,” Serrano said.
Though held annually, Cineberde is currently on a 2-year hiatus as a result of the enrollment gap caused by the introduction of the K-12 system in the country.
According to Vien Dimaculangan, Cineberde Rewind project head, plans for Cineberde Rewind were already in the works since the last school year but were halted after Taal volcano’s eruption and the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Nagkaroon ng K-12 [kaya] last year and this year walang nabuong mga pelikula. [This Cineberde Rewind is] parang, [a] look-back na lang sa mga pelikulang nabuo in the first 10 years of Cineberde,” Dimaculangan said.
Dimaculangan also shared that the theme “Ang Naging Kulay ng Indie Dine” is a spin on the festival’s original slogan for the past decade.
“Ang slogan talaga ng Cineberde is ‘Cineberde: Ang Kulay ng Indie Dine’ […] dahil nga rewind siya, babalikan yung mga naging kulay at yung mga naging kwento […] made by the ABCOMM alumni of De La Salle Lipa,” Dimaculangan said.
