Friday, December 16, 2022

 FACINE TAKES A PAUSE, THANKS THE FILIPINO FILMMAKING COMMUNITY ON THIS DAY - HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

It has been a difficult decision, for all of us in the FACINE team, volunteers all, that this year, marked by challenges, a trifecta of crisis - the pandemic, job dislocation, racial tumult in the US, as well as elsewhere - we need to take a pause, especially that the Roxie Theater, our home base has been closed since the start of the pandemic, that we had to cancel this year's festival.
Inasmuch as most yearly festivals did take their screenings online - as a matter of fact, FACINE started this mode of online film screenings two years ago (its short films festival to complement the main festival during FACINE 25 and 26) - the FACINE too burdened by events, both as individual and as a group - losses of friends and family members from the disease, the demands of jobs as essential workers, job furlough and the US elections - it felt it was best to look after ourselves and our families at this most trying time.
Personally, as founder and artistic director of FACINE, it would give me time to reflect on what FACINE means and what else it can do to pursue the interests of Filipino cinema outside of the homeland. In addition, it would give me time to organize its archives and collect its memories - being the second oldest festival of Filipino films, both from the Philippines and the Filipino diaspora, anywhere in the world (the MetroManila Film Festival is the oldest).
This is not a farewell sort-of; we will meet again, hopefully in 2021 when things are better. But at this point, I would like to thank all the producers, the filmmakers and their staff and crew, the distributors for sharing your works with the festival through these wonderful 26 years; our allies in the industry, the Philippine government's NCCA and FDCP, the academe and the media, and friends/followers in social media; and most importantly, our patrons and sponsors (special mention to PAWA, the San Francisco Main Library, the Filipino Channel), all the jury members who volunteered their time, our theater volunteers and our audience.
On a personal note, I would like to express my gratitude to all members of the team who stood by the cause of FACINE through thick and thin - Sheila Alix, Neil Torrefiel, Jethro Patalinghug, Leni Marin, Celi Tamayo-Lee, Nino Fajardo, Nikki Vendil, Erina Alejo, Ben Villao, Tony Remington, Jim Flores, Caroline Patalinghug and Maria Isabel Lopez.
Hanggang sa muli, maraming salamat [till next, thank you.]
- Mauro Feria Tumbocon Jr, Artistic Director, FACINE
Achinette Villamor, Jess Evardone and 92 others
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