CineMapúa, the longest-running student film festival of the Philippines, celebrates its 20th year by going international. What used to be Mapúa University’s local short film competition now opened its doors to international contenders, remarkably receiving over 600 entries under its World Short Film Section, two weeks after it opened its call for entries.
“CineMapúa is highly recognized by various student filmmakers around the globe as a platform for delivering socio-cultural stories and conveying concepts that can influence people’s lives. By going international, we embrace global cultures, experiences, film techniques, visual styles, and different languages. It is an added excitement in celebrating CineMapúa’s 20th year this 2022,” said Benigno Agapito Jr., dean of Mapúa’s School of Media Studies.
CineMapúa is an annual competition organized by Mapúa’s School of Media Studies, which began in 2002 as a classroom activity. It grew over the years and has since showcased films by students of Mapúa and of other local secondary schools and colleges. It aims to enhance students’ skills in film and production, create in them an awareness of the importance of film arts in the academe and the community, as well as its role in communicating advocacies and promoting values to viewers.
The competition includes three (3) other categories. The Collegiate and High School categories are open to junior and senior high school as well as college students from schools and universities in the country. The All Mapúans Category is exclusive to Mapúa college, senior high school, and graduate students.
“We establish CineMapúa as an elemental platform for showcasing inspiring narratives by students. Since our society has great and interesting stories to unfold, film is an innovative channel to communicate the experiences of students through visual storytelling,” shared Dean Agapito.
Several awards will be given away in the competition. Major awards are the Cardinal Gold, Cardinal Silver, and Cardinal Bronze films for each category, which comes with corresponding cash prizes and trophies.
Special awards will also be given: Cardinal Best Performance of an Actor and Actress, Cardinal Best Director, Cardinal Best Screenplay, Cardinal Best Cinematography, Cardinal Best Film Editing, Cardinal Best Production Design, Cardinal Best Sound Design, Cardinal Best Original Soundtrack, Cardinal Best Film Teaser, Cardinal Best Film Poster, and Cardinal Audience Choice Award.
Interested participants may submit their entries and read the complete guidelines, rules, and terms via FilmFreeWay at https://filmfreeway.com/cinemapua.
Submissions must include the final film and a one-minute teaser, both in MP4 format, including a 16×20-inch film poster.
The deadline for submission of entries is on September 30, 2022. Finalists will be announced and showcased in November 2022.
