The Bacolod City government on Tuesday, April 23, called for entries to the first Bacolod Film Festival with the theme “Stories with a Smile” and set in September this year.

Bacolod, known as the “City of Smiles,” is looking for short films with the “potential to inspire laughter, warmth, and a renewed appreciation for the brighter side of life.”

“Bacolod should be proud of its creatives. We have very artistic directors, and actors,” Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez, who chairs the Bacolod Film Festival Council, said.

The competition is part of the city’s initiative in line with the implementation of the Philippine Creative Industries Development Act, with additional funding from the Department of Trade and Industry.

Qualified to join are producers, directors or scriptwriters who are registered voters and residents of Bacolod City.

The film, which can be of any genre, such as romance, drama, comedy or horror in any Filipino language with English subtitles, must have a total running time of 15 to 20 minutes.

Scripts must be submitted on or before May 18, after which the 10 finalists will be selected.

Finalists will be given a production grant of P300,000 each, to be released in two tranches, of which the first is worth P200,000. The remaining P100,000 will be released once the picture lock version of the short film is submitted.

The deadline for submission of films is August 15, but prior to that, trailers and posters must be submitted by August 1 for promotional and marketing purposes.

In February this year, the City Council passed City Ordinance 1061, or the Bacolod Film Festival Ordinance, authored by Councilor Em Ang, chairperson of the committee on history, culture and arts, with Councilors Cindy Rojas and Celia Matea Flor.

The Bacolod Film Festival aims to further develop the city’s film production scene and create a venue where local filmmakers and producers can showcase their talents. (PNA)