NEW CMC FACULTY

For the 1st semester of AY 2008-2009, the College welcomed  Prof. E-Seok Seo, a visiting researcher from the Journalist Association of Daejon-Chungnam in Korea. Abigael Esguerra was also appointed instructor at the UP Film Institute; and Atty. Ma. Yumina Francisco, assistant  professor at the Department of Broadcast  Communication Except for the Graduate Studies Department, the other units of the College hired lecturers. They are Marinela Aseron and Perdo Joselito of the Department of Broadcast Communication; Maria Lourdes de Ocampo and Malou Balmaceda of the Department of Communication Research; Raymond Lee of the UP  Film Institute; and Patricia Adversario, John Nery, and Edson Tandoc of the Department of Journalism.  

Seares receives 2008 U.P. Gawad Plaridel

Pachico Seares, editor-in-chief of Sun.Star Cebu and Sun.Star Superbalita (Cebu), was awarded this year’s U.P. Gawad Plaridel for community journalism. He joins the roster of past U.P. Gawad Plaridel recipients Eugenia Duran-Apostol (2004, Print Journalism), Rosa Vilma Santos (2005, Film), Fidela “Tiya Dely” Magpayo (2006, Radio) and Cecilia Lazaro (2007, Television).

Seares was chosen for his steadfast commitment to press freedom and for inspiring a deeper sense of accountability among community journalists. He received a trophy by National Artist Napoleon Abueva and a cash prize donated by Coca-Cola last July 4 at the Cine Adarna of the U.P. Film Institute. As part of the program, he delivered the Plaridel lecture titled “The Future of Community Newspapers,” the full text of which is published in the August 2008 issue of Plaridel (A Journal of Philippine Communication, Media, and Society).  

The event was attended by over 700 people, including U.P. officials led by Chancellor Sergio Cao and Seares’ family members and friends from Cebu. Vilma Santos and Cheche Lazaro also graced the occasion, as well as faculty members of the U.P. CMC, UP students, and guests from other schools. 

The Office of Extension and External Relations (OEER) of the College coordinates the U.P. Gawad Plaridel, the sole award in the U.P. system given to outstanding media practitioners. In 2009, the award will be given to a media practitioner with outstanding contributions to independent filmmaking. 

UPFI Announces Activities in September and October

The U.P. Film Institute (UPFI) is preparing for the awards night of the UPFI Centennial Digital Film and Photo Competition which will start at 6:00 p.m. on September 16 at the Cine Adarna.  The winning short films will be shown before the awarding ceremonies while the winning photographs will be exhibited at the Ishmael Bernal Gallery.  The event is open to the public. 

The Film 200 Thesis Defense for the first semester of AY 2007-2008 will be on October 9 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. also at the Cine Adarna.  The event is also open to the public.

The UPFI official website is currently under construction.  In the meantime, people can visit its social networking site at http://upfilminstitute.multiply.com. UPFI events and announcements are regularly posted there. For official correspondence, please email UPFI at upfi.academic@gmail.com (academic division) and upfi.adarna@gmail.com (theater division).  For inquiries on multimedia workshops, please use upfi_workshops@yahoo.com.ph.

The festival was held in China from June 1 to 8. 

UPFI Junior Faculty and Alumni Participate

in 4^th Cinemalaya Film Congress

Four UPFI junior faculty participated in the Fourth Cinemalaya Film Congress which was held last July 15 and 16 at the CCP Little Theater. 

Avie Felix, Patrick Campos, Libay Linsangan Cantor and Cenon Palomares served as panel rapporteurs for each of the four congress panels.  This year’s Congress theme was “Spreading the News:  Promoting, Distributing, and Exhibiting Indie Films.”  Dr. Nicanor Tiongson, also of the UPFI, served as this year’s Congress Director. 

The Congress was a major part of the Fourth Cinemalaya Independent Film Festival which ran from July 11 to 20, 2008.  The competing films were then shown at the Cine Adarna from July 28 to August 6, 2008. 

Several competing films were directed by UPFI alumni.  Michael  Christian Cardoz, a 2008 alumnus, directed Ranchero, an entry in the full-length category.  Ned Trespeces and Onnah Valera co-directed another full-length entry, My Fake American Accent, which also featured other UPFI alumni in its cast (Cenon Palomares) and crew (Jacquelyn See and Miriam Lacaba).  Another alumnus, Louise Yamsuan, entered her production thesis titled Tutos in the short film category.

All UPFI Best Thesis awardees for AY 2007-2008 were likewise exhibited as a special UP Shorts Program of the Cinemalaya Film Festival.

Dr. Nicanor G. Tiongson launched his latest book titled The Cinema of Manuel Conde last July 16 at the Cultural Center of the Philippines.  Gracing the event were the family of Manuel Conde led by his wife and son Jun Urbano (who gained popularity for his portrayal of Mr. Shooli).  Also present were actors Eddie Garcia, Perla Bautista and Delia Razon, all of whom acted, at one time or another, for the movies directed and/or starred in by Conde. 

The book launching was part of the tribute given by the 2008 Cinemalaya Independent Film Festival to Conde, the acknowledged pioneer of Philippine independent filmmaking.  Also part of the tribute is the opening of the Manuel Conde Exhibit and the public screening of his notable films, one of which is Genghis Khan, the first Filipino movie to be invited to participate in an international film festival (i.e., the 1952 Venice Film Festival). 

Ranchero’ Featured in Paris Cinema 2008

Michael Christian Cardoz’s Ranchero was part of the Paris Cinema International Film Festival (IFF) 2008 held from July 1 to 12.   

After honoring South Korea in 2006 and Lebanon in 2007, the Paris Cinema IFF “Country of Honour” segment paid a tribute to the Philippines – its new generation of film directors, and a cinematography filled with energy and audacity.   

Ranchero was among the feature films, shorts, documentaries, videos, experimental works presented.  The Paris Cinema IFF has become a major early-summer meeting point, both for professionals and for film lovers.  It is an initiative of the Paris City Hall which supports the event. 

Cardoz graduated from the UPFI in March 2008. 

CommRes profs do research, organizing work

Some faculty members of the Department of Communication Research were actively involved in major academic activities within and outside the college.Dr. Fernando Paragas co-edited the February 2008 issue of Plaridel: A Journal of Philippine Communication, Media and Society on Media Texts and Contexts with Prof. Violeda A. Umali before she left on a PhD scholarship for Austria. He also presented his paper titled The Fluidity of Text, Intellectual Honesty, and Search Engines as Academic Sources at a conference on Gatekeepers in a Digital Asian-European Media Landscape: The Rising Structural Power of Internet Search Engines held in Singapore from February 28 to March 1. A month later, he chaired the UP CMC Thesis and Dissertation Guidebook Committee with Prof. Yvonne Chua, Ms. Luzviminda Matulac, Dr. Perlita Manalili, and Dr. Arminda Santiago as members.   

Dr. Lourdes Portus and Dr. Rene Ofreneo of the UP School of Labor and Industrial Relations (SOLAIR) headed the Organizing Committee of the 8^th ASEAN Inter-University Conference (IUC). Other logistical functions involved Dr. Aleli A. Quirante (Secretariat Head), Prof. Ramona Jimenez (Finance), Dr. Arminda V. Santiago of the UP Film Institute (FI; Marketing), and Atty. Mina Francisco of the Department of Broadcast Communication (Food). The 8^th ASEAN IUC was held at the Century Park Hotel in Manila from May 28 to May 31. In July, Dr. Portus and Dr. Paragas organized Student Best Works as an added component of the 17^th Annual AMIC Conference. CMC professors who graced the event were Prof. Rosa Maria Feliciano, Prof. Shirley P. Evidente, and Prof. Fernando A. Austria from the Department of Broadcast Communication, and Prof. Roehl L. Jamon and Dr. Arminda V. Santiago of the UPFI. 

Dr. Portus later traveled to Indonesia and Malaysia with Dr. Quirante from July 24 to July 29 to attend the post-evaluation of the 8^th ASEAN IUC, as well as the planning-workshop and series of meetings for next year’s ASEAN IUC.  She also received an award for her study, How the Urban Poor Give Meaning to Mobile Phone, which was published in A Handbook of Mobile Communication Studies edited by Dr. James Katz of Rutgers University and published by The MIT Press.