11th Cinemanila International Film Festival Showcases Local and International Film Masterpieces

Local and international films enthusiasts took part in celebrating the best of Philippine and world cinema at the 11^th Cinemanila International Film Festival which began last October 15 and will run until October 25, 2009 at Bonifacio Global City and Market! Market! Cinemas in Taguig City.

Around 100 international and local films will be screened in a span of 10 days – from the current toasts of the local indie scene to the award-winners and favorites at prestigious festivals such as Cannes, Berlin, Rotterdam, Sundance, and Pusan. The festival will also feature workshops, seminars and master classes.

For its opening film, Cinemanila 2009 showcased Director Brillante Mendoza’s latest work, Lola (Grandmother). Director Mendoza’s latest work, Lola, was preceded by his film Kinatay (The Execution of P), which earned him the prestigious Best Director Award at the 62^nd Cannes Film Festival last May 2009. Lola is slated as the Philippine surprise entry in the 66^th Venice Film Festival, (Main Competition) which counts acclaimed filmmaker Ang Lee as Chairman of this year’ jury.

Closing the curtain for this year’s festival is the much-anticipated Himpapawid (Manila Skies) from award-winning independent filmmaker Director Raymond Red.

For this year, Cinemanila introduced a brand new component that will give credit to Philippine Machinima or “machine-animation” or “machine-cinema. The 2009 Cinemanila Machinima Film Festival aims to unearth machinimators and machinima talents in the region and to recognize this growing film making movement. The Machinima Film Festival will be held on October 20, 2009

The 2009 Cinemanila is presented by the City of Taguig, Cinemanila International Film Festival Foundation, Bonifacio Global City, and sponsored by Business World, Manila Bulletin, Solid Video Corporation, TWBA\Santiago Mangada Puno, Chana, Microdata Systems and Mangement, Inc., ClicktheCity.com, Philippine Entertainment Portal, Web Philippines, Inc., The Philippine Star, Spot.ph, UR105.9 Underground Radio, 99.5RT, Mellow 947, and World Cinema Fund.

For more info, contact Cinemanila Secretariat at (632) 392-7935, email cinemanila@gmail.com or visit their website at www.cinemanila.org.

PRSP Held Two-Part Digital PR Seminar

The Public Relations Society of the Philippines (PRSP) held there Professional Development seminar focused on digital PR last September 25, 2009 and October 16, 2009 at the InterContinental Hotel Manila in Makati City.

Aptly titled, “A Whole New World of Digital PR”, the 2-part seminar aims to gather industry experts to discuss and share their insights on the various aspects of online reputation management, the online media as a part of campaigns and strategies to build brand relationships with stakeholders.

Among the list of respected speakers include:

Speaker	Topic
Mr. Jay Bautista, The Nielsen Company Philippines – Media Group Executive Director	The Philippine Digital Landscape: An Assessment
Mr. Mike Palacios, Havoc Digital General Manager	How to use Digital PR Tools Effectively
Ms. Janette Toral, founder of DigitalFilipino.com	Effective Online PR with Bloggers
Mr. Reggie Velasco, Yellow Brick Road Philippines General Manager (Yahoo!)	Digital PR the Yahoo! Way
Mr. Paulo Pangan Yehey! Corporation Digital Strategy Manager	Digital PR Techniques for Politics
Mr. Donald Patrick Lim, Yehey! Corporation Chief Executive Officer	Viral Marketing Techniques for Online Word of Mouth (WOM)
Ms. Aileen Apolo, Google Country Consultant for the Philippines	Using Google Search for Online PR
Ms. Crisela Magpayo-Cervantes, ABS-CBN Interactive Customer Marketing Head	Using Online Communities for Digital PR
Mr. Carlo Ople, Friendster Global Digital Marketing Manager	Using Social Networks for PR

Mr. Donald Patrick Lim, along with Ms. Elaine Uy, Chief Marketing Officer of Yehey! Corporation facilitated the workshop on the process of organizing a blogger event as a tool for brand relations and crisis management.

For more information about the event, contact the PRSP at telefax (632) 638-0012, 638-0010, email publicrelations.prsp@yahoo.com, prsociety.prsp@yahoo.com or visit www.prsp.ph

Environmental Films Showcased at First Green Film Festival

Four (4) films touching on planet-related issues were featured at The 1^st Green Film Festival held at SM North EDSA on September 23, 2009. The movies shown at Cinema 4 of SM The Block were a combination of American and Filipino films aimed at creating awareness about the serious problems our planet Earth is currently facing and what can people do about it.

Spearheaded by the SM Cares' SM Environment Committee, in partnership with Unico Home Entertainment, Solar Entertainment Corporation (official United International Pictures distributor in the Philippines), Warner Bros. Pictures, Magnavision and SM Cinema, the Green Film Festival highlighted environmental issues, such as climate change, scarcity of water, environmental decay, and the need for people and nations to work together for a sustainable future.

Joining the SM Environment Committee for the Green Film Festival are the embassies of France, Japan and The Netherlands which contributed films shown during the event.

Some of the films shown during the festival were:

• The 11^th Hour, which was released in 2007 and narrated by Leonardo di Caprio. The movie presented visionary and practical solutions to restore the planet’s ecosystems;
• Home, a depiction of how the Earth's problems are all interlinked;
• Penguin, Penguin Paano Ka Ginawa is the Filipino version of the French documentary March of the Penguins, narrated by Sharon Cuneta. It followed the journey of a penguin to its breeding spot in Antarctica; and
• Abong (Small Home), which is a Filipino-Japanese art and cultural film about the Igorots of Mt. Province.

The movies Home and The 11th Hour were also shown at SM Megamall last September 30 along with Al Gore’s documentary, An Inconvenient Truth, and British Broadcasting Corporation’s Planet Earth. Screenings were also held at SM Mall of Asia last October 7, 2009.

The 1^st Green Film Festival is a project of SM Prime Holdings, Inc. For more information, call (632) 292-0023 or (632) 294-4367.

Experts Shared Views and Practices at 3rd Internet Mobile and Marketing Summit

Internet and mobile marketing experts from all over the world shared their insights and success stories in utilizing the power of the internet and mobile media for marketing purposes during the 3^rd Internet Mobile and Marketing Summit held last August 25 – 26, 2009 at the SMX Convention Center, Mall of Asia Complex in Pasay City.

Organized by the Internet and Mobile Marketing Association of the Philippines, the event was guided by the theme, “Digital Delivers”. The informative 2-day conference aims to assess the digital marketing scenario in the Philippines and present relevant studies and practices of marketing and ad agencies that utilizes the internet and mobile.

IMMAP President Arthur Policarpio welcomed the delegates of the event. Nestle Philippines Senior Vice President and Communication and Marketing Service Director Sandra Puno and Philippine Association of National Advertisers (PANA) President Charmaine Canillas delivered the keynote address during the first day of the event. While Unilever Philippines Chairman Fernando Fernandez and Mobile Marketing Association President and CEO Mike Wehrs gave the keynote address during the second day of the conference.

Several notable speakers graced this year’s conference including:

• Ms. Bennett Porter, Head of Marketing Emerging Markets for Yahoo! Inc.,
• Mr. Kent Wertime, Asia-Pacific Director for OgilvyOne Worldwide
• Mr. James Laffery, Ret. Vice President of Procter and Gamble Philippines
  
• Mr. Rahul Vasudev, Director of MediaCom Interaction
• Mr. Jerico Barrera, Client Service Director for Media of The Nielsen Company
• Ms. Teresita Villareal, Marketing Director for Customer Marketing Group of ABS-CBN Broadcasting, Inc.
• Mr. Masaki Iwata, Digital Solutions Producer of Dentsu Japan
• Ms. Riana Roces Trinidad, Co-Managing Partner of Proud Mama Concepts, Inc.,
• Mr. Jose Anton Diaz, owner and blogger of Our Awesome Planet.
  

The second day of the conference was highlighted by a special case presentation courtesy of the 2009 Boomerang Gold Award winners. The winners are:

• Cyber Boomerang Category: Nescafe Palistuhan by Proximity Philippines
• Mobile Boomerang Category: Quaker Oats Eat Well and Win Promo by Proximity Philippines/BBDO Guerrero
• Integrated Boomerang Category: Sandbox by: Smart Communications, Inc. and Wolfpac Mobile, Inc.
  
• Innovation Boomerang Category: Awesome Philippines Second Life Press Conference by the Philippine Department of Tourism and Media Contacts Philippines

The 3rd Internet Mobile and Marketing Summit 2009 is sponsored by OgilvyOne Worldwide, DentsuIndio, Smart Communications, Inc., Business World, Fiera de Manila, MobiThinking, Yahoo! Philippines, Friendster, Inquirer.net, Admax Network, iHub Media, Eyeblaster, Snapworx, Inc., PinoyExchange.com, Adobo Magazine, The Philippine Star, Philstar.com, IT Matters (Special section of Business World), Affle, Business Mirror, Canon, Studio 23, and The Radio Partners, Inc. (Jam 88.3, Wave 891, Magic 89.9, Killer Bee FM, 99.5 RT, and 103.5 Max FM)

For more information about the event, contact Internet and Mobile Marketing Association of the Philippines at (632) 896-0637, 896-0639 or visit the event website at http://www.interactivesummit.com.ph/.

Cable Television Heads Gathered for PCTA 2009

The country's cable television executives, operators, stakeholders, as well as members of the allied industry gathered for the 17^th Annual Philippine Cable Television Association (PCTA) National Convention held last March 11 to 13, 2009 at the SMX Convention Center, Mall of Asia Complex in Pasay City.

The annual event, co-presented by PCTA and Solar Entertainment Corporation, in cooperation with Trinity Broadcasting Network - Asia – South Pacific, SES New Skies, and Al Jazeera Network, carried the theme, “Cable TV: Making the Big Difference”.

The event started off with the traditional PCTA Golf Tournament held at the Riviera Golf and Country Club in Cavite last March 10, 2009. In the afternoon, a pre-convention session was held highlighting Corporate Social Responsibility, a core topic in line with this year's theme.

Acclaimed speakers from the academe, cable industry, and allied companies such as Prof. Felipe Alfonso, Executive Director of the Asian Institute of Management—Ramon V. del Rosario, Sr. Center for Corporate Social Responsibility Center (AIM-RVR CSR Center); Ms. Maureen Aquino, General Manager of Satellite Cable Network/Infomax 8; Ms. Marivic Gamo, Head of Channels and Marketing of Cisco Systems International; and Atty. Alexander Lacson, author of the national bestseller “12 Little Things Every Filipino Can Do To Help. Our Country" took time to discuss both corporate and individual social responsibility topics that inspired all the attendees.

Vice President Noli "Kabayan" De Castro served as the keynote speaker during the opening ceremony. In his speech, Vice President De Castro talked about the role of the cable industry in the development of a well-informed and culturally-refined citizenry. The opening ceremony ended with the ribbon-cutting ceremony of the exhibit graced by former Senator Ramon Magsaysay Jr., PCTA 2009 Convention Chairman Philip Chien, PCTA President Allan Dungao, and special guests.

Forty-five international and local companies took part in the exhibits, which included program providers, technical suppliers, and service providers. Plenary presentations and discussions about the lastes technology in cable broadcast were held at the conference hall. The topics centered on internet protocol television (IPTV), direct-to-home (DTH) service, and Digital Terrestrial TV.

Industry stakeholders also presented business opportunities that will benefit the industry in the coming years such as internet via satellite and digital head end in the sky. Content provisioning and cable advertising were also presented to the delegates. Simultaneously, the PCTA Technical Committee held technical sessions that discussed headend and outside plant preparation, equipment selection, and implementation for digital migration, together with conditional access, set-top box management, and value added services.

The government, represented by the National Telecommunications Commission and the Intellectual Property Office, likewise discussed the role of the state and the government plans on certain technology issues and concerns.

PCTA 2009 was capped with the Cablelympics, a quiz-show type competition participated by technical personnel from different cable companies in the country. This year, 11 cable companies fielded contestants who answered questions in three stages. In the end, Mr. Dindo Amoyo of Negros Cable TV emerged as the champion, besting 29 other contestants. Afterwards, thirty-one regular members and six affiliate members received the coveted PCTA Loyalty Awards for their continuous membership to the association.

The 17^th Philippine Cable Television Association National Convention is sponsored by HBO Asia, TV5Monde, Cable Box Office Shows & Systems Corporation (Cable Boss), Conax, Home Shopping TV Network, Deutsche Welle, Chase Technologies Corporation, Irdeto, Discovery Channel, Eagle's Wings Enterprises, Padi's Point, Reyes Haircutters, Kabayan Hotel, Tamayo's Catering, The Spa, Atrium Hotel, Amity Satellite Systems, Inc., and the following media partners: Philippine Graphic, Business Mirror, TV Guide, Business World, Cable Line, ContentAsia, DZMM Teleradyo, and 97dot9 Home Radio.

For more information about the event, contact the Philippine Cable Television Association at (632) 638-8541, 638-8544, email cableconvention@pcta.org.ph or visit their website at www.pcta.org.ph