International Silent Film Festival Manila Launches Silent Film Competition on its 15th Year

Wazzup Pilipinas!?

Mit Out Sound, the country’s first film lab on silent filmmaking, will culminate with a Silent Short Film Competition at the International Silent Film Festival Manila in November

On its 15th year, the International Silent Film Festival Manila (ISFFM) has stepped up efforts to promote silent filmmaking in the Philippines by establishing Mit Out Sound (MOS): International Silent Film Lab 2021

The ISFFM is a joint partnership among the Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP), Embassy of France in Manila, Philippine Italian Association, Goethe-Institute Philippinen, Instituto Cervantes de Manila, and Japan Foundation, Manila.

Established in 2007, the ISFFM is among the few remaining silent film festivals in the world and the first and oldest Southeast Asian silent film festival. It is an awaited cultural event among cinephiles and music lovers as it brings together film classics and Filipino musicians on the same stage to perform and reinterpret stories.

Through the online MOS: International Silent Film Lab, the ISFFM aims to encourage the production of silent films and discover new talents who will be mentored by local and international filmmakers on story development, editing, technicalities, and other elements of silent filmmaking to better translate their visual narratives.

The ISFFM committee will choose 10 filmmakers to undergo the intensive MOS film lab. The FDCP, through its Film Cultural Exchange Program (FCEP), will conduct all MOS activities, including the Visual Storytelling Lab, Safe Filming Lab, and Editing Lab sessions that will be held via Zoom.

Participants will each be awarded a production grant worth PHP 50,000 to produce their silent shorts that will premiere at the Silent Short Film Competition in the 15th ISFFM in November 2021.

During the festival’s culmination, incentive awards will also be given: Best Film Award (PHP 20,000 with trophy and certificate), Jury’s Special Prize Award (PHP 10,000 with trophy and certificate), and Jose Nepomuceno Award (PHP 15,000 with trophy and certificate).

“Philippine Cinema has lost most of its early silent films. This sad reality inspired the creation of the first Mit Out Sound: International Silent Film Lab in order to revive the interest in silent filmmaking and enhance the expertise of Filipino filmmakers in creating unique and quality films,” said FDCP Chairperson and CEO Liza Diño.

She noted that silent filmmaking is crucial in the history of Philippine Cinema because the first movie produced and directed by a Filipino, “Dalagang Bukid” by Jose Nepomuceno, was a silent film. The classic’s release date of September 12, 1919 was the basis of the declaration of Sine Sandaan or One Hundred Years of Philippine Cinema.

Since the production of silent films only appeals to a few filmmakers, the ISFFM has issued a nationwide call for entries by amateur and professional filmmakers aged 16 and above.

With the theme “Reimagining the Past with the Present,” the MOS: International Silent Film Lab seeks to celebrate film retrospective and pay homage to Philippine silent cinema. Submissions must present the filmmakers’ artistic and contemporary reimagination and recreation of any of the following Filipino silent film classics:

● “Dalagang Bukid” by Jose Nepomuceno

● “Ang Tatlong Hambog” by Jose Nepomuceno

● “Ang Manananggal” by Jose Nepomuceno

● “Moro Pirates” by Jose Nepomuceno

● “Mang Tano, Nuno ng mga Aswang” by Jose Nepomuceno

● “Tianak” by Jose Nepomuceno

● “Mali-Mali” by Jose Nepomuceno

● “Estrellita del cine” by Jose Nepomuceno

● “Miracles of Love” by Vicente Salumbides

● “Patria Amore” by Julian Manansala

● “Oriental Blood” by Carmen Concha

 

Interested filmmakers should submit the following requirements in an organized Google Drive folder with a shared viewing setting to specialprojects@fdcp.ph until June 18, 2021:

 

● Presentation deck of the story treatment (Applicants may submit a maximum of two treatments.)

● Accomplished application form

● Official government ID

● Portfolio of past works

 

To download the application form and view the full mechanics, visit https://www.fdcp.ph/mitoutsound and for inquiries, contact Ms. Julienne Calugcug at jmcalugcug.fdcp@gmail.com or specialprojects@fdcp.ph.

Long-term study proves BENEO’s Orafti®Synergy1 reduces infection duration for infants in first year of life

Wazzup Pilipinas!?

A recently published study from an EU-funded project[i] demonstrates that the prebiotic enrichment of infant formula milk with oligofructose-enriched inulin (Orafti®Synergy1) reduces the duration of infections in the first year of a baby’s life.

The study is part of the EARNEST[ii] project (EARly Nutrition programming-long term follow up of Efficacy and Safety Trials), an EU-funded integrated initiative. It was conducted across multiple sites and was a prospective, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled study. It involved 160 healthy term infants who were exclusively formula-fed and aged younger than 4 months at the outset of the study. The infant formula was either enriched with 0.8 g/100 mL of BENEO’s Orafti®Synergy1, a chicory root derived prebiotic, or an unsupplemented control formula. These were given until the babies were 12 months old.

The findings showed that both formulas were well-tolerated and safe. However, the babies that consumed the infant formula enriched with Orafti®Synergy1 had significantly shorter infection episodes, compared to the control group. In addition, the total daily crying time for those consuming the prebiotic formula was lower and their stools were significantly softer throughout the 12-month period.

Anke Sentko, Vice President Regulatory Affairs & Nutrition Communication at BENEO, comments: “The research results are especially exciting because they reflect the first year in a baby’s life for the first time and show that the duration of infections was significantly reduced by the group consuming formula enriched with Orafti®Synergy1. Without a doubt, this is good news for both babies and their parents. With the right choice of ingredients, formulas can be improved by enriching them with prebiotic oligofructose-enriched inulin and brought closer to the gold standard of breast-feeding.”

This is the third study using 0.8 g/100 mL Orafti®Synergy1 with infants proving safety, good tolerance and health benefits, but is the first study with Orafti®Synergy1 of such a long duration. It also adds to the growing evidence of the positive effects of prebiotics on a baby’s gut microbiota linked to their inner defence system. In this respect, a healthy colonisation of the gut microbiota with beneficial bacteria seems to be of high importance for the proper development of the immune system.

As a recognised prebiotic, oligofructose-enriched inulin, BENEO’s Orafti®Synergy1, feeds beneficial Bifidobacteria in the gut and thus positively influences the microbiota. Breast-fed babies’ microbiota is characterised by a high count of Bifidobacteria, which positively influences the gut environment. While not every child is able to benefit from breast feeding, this study shows that with the prebiotic enrichment of infant formula, it is possible for them to gain a stronger inner defence system, improved stool consistency and other benefits.

Louie Sangalang keeps his cool amid physical ordeals, roller coaster emotions and nerve wracking mind games

Wazzup Pilipinas!?

Louie Sangalang is literally the last man standing in The Apprentice: ONE Championship Edition -- the last male candidate in the running for the US$250,000 job offer to be the protégé of ONE Championship chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong and his chief of staff at the ONE Championship Global Headquarters in Singapore.

Sanggalang has had a strong performance so far in the reality series, impressing no less than Sityodtong with his business acumen and creativity, especially in his team’s business proposal for a travel insurance app that would give travelers peace of mind and convenience once travel is resumed. Sangalang was project leader for that task.

Other candidates took note of his strategic and seemingly scheming game in the first eight episodes, however. But Sangalang is unperturbed by other people's opinions of him.

Truth be told, he's just going with the flow, he says. He knows all too well the unpredictability of being in what is touted as the toughest The Apprentice in history.

"I didn’t really have a gameplan coming into the competition because I didn’t know what to expect," he said. "So my preparation was quite simple: I told myself that I’m just going to be my best professional self and practice mental toughness, then I will adapt to the situation along the way."

From there, Sangalang’s mantra was to “expect the unexpected”. His strong belief in and practice of stoicism toughened him up and gave him a sense of balance from which he can draw from an inner strength.

It is the same mindset that saw him weather failures and life challenges that would have easily felled others. His rebellious youth, a bout with alcoholism and depression, and then stomach cancer in his 20s were formidable setbacks for Sangalang. But phoenix-like he conquered all those and went on to be the first Filipino cancer survivor to finish the North Pole Marathon. He became an MMA champion in 2018, an Iron Man finisher the same year and is now a successful business person.

In The Apprentice, Sangalang made it a point to give 110-percent in every physical task and boardroom challenge and is the only candidate among the 16 to stay undefeated as a project manager. Six male candidates from the United States, Singapore, New Zealand, and Japan have been eliminated as were female candidates from Singapore, Germany, Thailand, the United States and the Philippines. Now Sangalang is up against all-female competitors from the US, Indonesia, Russia, and Venezuela.

Being the thorn among roses means nothing to Sangalang. What matters is proving one's self, especially with what's hanging in the balance, he said. "Chatri found strong characteristics and abilities in each one of us, So, it doesn’t matter whether you're male or female. We're here and there's a reason why we're here. Probably Chatri sees some greatness in us that he believes he can unlock once he chooses 'the one.'"

Sangalang, however, is in it to win it and he vows to do everything in his power to win The Apprentice: ONE Championship Edition.


The Apprentice: ONE Championship Edition is showing across Asia on AXN, the show’s official Asian broadcast partner, with markets to include Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Philippines, Taiwan, Thailand, Cambodia, Myanmar, and Vietnam.

The first season of “The Apprentice: ONE Championship Edition” consists of 13 episodes and will be seen in the Philippines on Thursdays, 8:50 pm on AXN cable network and on Mondays at 9 p.m. on One Sport.