One of the most awaited film festivals in the Philippines is the Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF), which happens annually, every 25th of December up to first week of January.
This year, aspiring students and amateur filmmakers from different universities are set to compete in MMFF’s Student Short Film category, featuring fellow klasmeyts Julius Custodio and Nicca Quirante.
According to the director, Julius Custodio, his last film “Pagyapak” failed, but he did not lose hope, instead, he began looking for another competition.
With encouragement from a friend, he decided to join MMFF. The seniors finished their script at the last minute and submitted it by hair’s breadth, with just two minutes left before the last submission, Julius thought that their entry would not make it. Julius and Nicca started making the screenplay on August 12 and submitted it on the last day of submission which was August 15. On August 30, it was announced that their entry, “The Lost Sitty,” was officially going through the Semi-Finals.
Their journey didn’t sail smoothly, as it went though adversities — from conceptualization to collaboration. His perseverance didn’t stop to pull of the story he wanted to showcase which led him to continue his original plans with Nicca Quirante.
The cinephiles didn’t lose hope from submitting their entry. After making to the semi-finals, the two aspirants faced challenges in raising funds for their film’s production. The young directors are hoping to get support from Communication Department as well as the entire university per se.
The crew had their occular in Cavite for the location of the shoot on September 8 and would conduct their look test on the next day, September 9 at Media Center, Adamson University. Both experienced and amateur actors are auditioning for the roles in the said film.