COUNTRY UPDATE

PHILIPPINES

 

SOFIA drafts plan towards a National AV Archive

 

       The start of the new millennium marked SOFIA's consolidation of its directions for the next five years. Core members of the Society of Film Archivists together with some of its key partners and professional organizers elected to put in four days dedicated to formulating its strategic plan. The plan was deemed necessary to put priority activities within the context of a broader and structured plan of action.

 

        In this plan, SOFIA affirmed its vision:

        At the end of the first decade of the 21st century, we see a National Audiovisual Archive that is built on a solid ground, a living repository of the country's audiovisual heritage.

        We see archivists committed to their work, recognized as professionals, experts in the chosen field.

        We see an archive that is

 

integrated to the film and the audiovisual industry.

        We see generations of Filipinos actively engaging the past, ieaming about themselves and their nation through images and sound.

        Its mission statement read as follows: To collect, manage, conserve, and promote the Philippine audiovisual heritage for national development.

        The more salient features of the strategic plan include the following:

 

·          Identification of the roles of stakeholders in Philippine audiovisual archiving;

·          Discussion of historical and legal perspectives;

·          Presentation of audiovisual archiving models from other countries;

·          Analysis of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats;

·          Identification of strategic issues; and

·          Formulation of goals, strategies, and an implementation plan

 

Top priority action is required in the following areas:

·          Establishing the National Audiovisual Archive;

·          Standards for A-V Archiving in the Philippines;

·          Public awareness of the value of A-V archiving;

·          Integration of A-V archiving in the A-V industry; and

·          Networking, linkages and alliances.

Each SOFIA member chose to concentrate his efforts in a given area. Finally, each made a formal commitment to devote time and energies in fulfilling the aims of the organization and undertaking the planned activities they have chosen.

 

 

 

 

 

Sineginto 2000 from page 8

 

SOFIA officials and the Advertising Foundation of the Philippines recently signed an agreement to jointly undertake a series of TV specials featuring old, restored and outstanding Filipino movies.

 

 

of filmmaking in the country that continues to wield influence on the development of the industry; b) the preponderance of many local filmmakers who use Hollywood films as the model for filmmaking, yet suffer from lack of resources to produce quality films; c) the emergence of the bakya crowd, the predominant audience for popular Tagalog movies which determines the box-office success of films in the country.

        Film producers had to cater to the taste of this predominant group of moviegoers who patronize films that carry themes and situations for the audience to identify with, and are highly entertaining, mostly in the genre of melodramas, the musical and comedy shows, and action thrillers. Artistic films

 

had to continually compete with the popular commercial output of the industry. Be that as it may, some films managed to rise above the standard output of the industry and proved to be of value and of long enduring interest.

        Sineginto, provides the moviegoers the opportunity to appreciate some of these rare outputs and earlier works of our filmmakers.

        The new Sineginto season started this April with a lineup of about 20 films programmed for viewing. It is hoped that Sineginto will contribute to the current effort in orienting our moviegoers to appreciate our heritage and use this as a basis for developing the audience's taste and standards for watching films in the country beyond the commercial aspect.

 

 

Page 9– AV Archives Bulletin

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January-June 2000