AdNU to Hold Conference on Film, Culture

WITH THE prime aspiration of instigating a culture of filmmaking in Bikol, the Ateneo de Naga University Department of Media Studies and the Media Studies Society are holding the 2nd Bicol Conference on Communication and Media Studies on January 1 to February 2, 2011. With the title-theme “Pelikula@Kultura”, the conference is aimed at stirring the Bikolano students and enthusiasts to see the various images, artifacts and traditions and thereafter reflect on the possibilities of translating these riches into information transfer, expressions or advocacies through the art of film.

The conference will feature a list of lectures on the various essential aspects of film. The roster of lecturers is topped by the keynote speaker, Dr. Miguel Q. Rapatan, chair of the National Committee on Cinema of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts. Other lecturers are Prof. Tito Genova Valiente of AdNU (Film as Cultural Memory), Dr. Roland Tolentino, Dean of UP College of Mass Communication (Film Semiotics), Dr. Alvin B. Yapan, writer-filmmaker, and a faculty member of Ateneo de Manila University (Panitikan at Pamemelikula); Mr. Jerry B. Gracio, poet-screenwriter (Mga Tunguhin at Hamon ng Kontemporanyong Screenwriting); and Mr. Jim Libiran, filmmaker and journalist (Guerilla Filmmaking).

Screening of noted independent films will highlight the conference. Veronica Velasco’s Last Supper No.3 will be shown on January 31, Alvin Yapan’s Gayuma is scheduled to be shown on February 1, and Jim Libiran’s Happyland will be featured on February 2. Velasco’s Last Supper No.3 is a humorous presentation of the rather meandering route of the Philippines’ legal system for someone who wants justice. Yapan’s Gayuma, noted for its being the first-ever full-length feature film in the Bikol language, is a remarkable love story that transcends social class, religious and superstitious beliefs, and urban rural prejudices. Libiran’s Happyland brings the viewers into the labyrinthine Tondo, among the legendary barefooted football players at the heart of their dreams and desires.

For inquiries and other details, please contact the Department of Media Studies of Ateneo de Naga University at (054)4738447 local 2022, look for Vic Nierva; or inquire through text messages at 09293371588.