Film Development Council of the Philippines honors Film Ambassadors

Film Ambassador Gloria Sevilla
and FDCP Chair Liza Dino

The Film Development Council of the Philippines recognized the creativity and global achievements of recent international film festival winners during the Film Ambassadors Night 2017 held last January 31 at the FDCP Cinematheque Manila Open Grounds, T.M. Kalaw St., Ermita, Manila.


Among those honored are FDCP Artistic Excellence Awardee Brillante Mendoza (“Ma’Rosa”) and Film Ambassadors Erik Matti (“Honor Thy Father”),Jun Lana and Paolo Ballesteros (“Die Beautiful”), Cesar Montano (“Nilalang”), Eduardo Roy, Jr. and HasmineKilip (“PamilyaOrdinaryo”), Mario Cornejo (“Apocalypse Child”), Mikhail Red (“Birdshot”), Paolo Dy (“Ignacio de Loyola”),Seymour B. Sanchez (“Caretaker”), KhavnDela Cruz (“Alipato: The Very Brief of an Ember”), Joseph Israel Laban (“Happy New Year”), Sue Prado and Marco Felipe Villa Lopez (“The Sister”), NorielJarito (“Huramentado”), Vincent Soberano (“Blood Hunters”), Dominic Nuesa (“AngArawsaLikod”), P.R. Patindol (“Hilom”) and BradleyLiew (“Singing in Graveyards”).

Die Beautiful team and Liza Dino

Also bestowed Film Ambassador honors by the FDCP are International Film Festival Manhattan Lifetime Achievement Awardees Gloria Sevilla and Ricky Lee and IFFM 2016 winners Sigfreid Barros-Sanchez (“Magtanggol”), Ato Bautista (“Gemini”), Andreas Muñoz (“Ignacio de Loyola”), Nathalie Hart (“Siphayo”), Leon Miguel (“Red Lights”), Madonna Sanchez (“FilemonMamon”), Giovanni Baldisseri (“Lucky Jinx”), Carlo Ortega Cuevas (“Walang Take Two”) and Rhoda Joy Blaza (“The Equation”).

Rounding up the FDCP Film Ambassador awardees are Los Angeles Philippine International Film Festival 2016 winners Carlo Catu and Robby Tantingco (“Ari: My Life with a King”), Randolph Longjas and Candy Pangilinan (“Star nasi Van Damme Stallone”), Pedring Lopez (“Nilalang”), King Palisoc (“Tandem”), Soliman Cruz (“Balik”), ClanchDayveBelleza and Albert Chan Paran(“Julie”), AnjMacalanda (“Wawa”), Niko Salazar (“Sejour”), Jae-re Louise Liwanag (“Sukat”), Katherine Olmedo (“Got it Maid”) and Leeds Animation Workshop and Pavilion (“They Call Us Maids”).

Dubbed as “an evening of celebration, thanksgiving and gathering of our award-winning Filipino films and filmmakers,” the event was first launched last October 2016 and FDCP aims to make it an annual event to recognize those who continue the proud tradition of Philippine cinema and have brought not only prestige to the country but also raised the level of awareness to the craft and art of filmmaking.

“Our filmmakers are Film Ambassadors duly representing our culture all over the world through the wondrous power of cinema. Each of their contribution only adds to the whole of an already great Filipino heritage that is constantly growing in scale and quality,” FDCP Chair and CEO Liza Diño said.

Since Diño assumed her post at FDCP, she has vowed to campaign for the continued growth of Philippine cinema and has introduced numerous flagship programs to support and empower film literacy, film education, film criticism, and film appreciation.