Metro Manila Film Festival Management by Metro Manila Development Authority (2002-2007)

Abstract

The author was inspired to pursue this study because of his love of films. The Metro Manila Film Festival, being the most popular local film festival in the country, was chosen to be the focus of the study. Regardless of being labeled as the premier local film festival by the local film industry, MMFF has received several complaints and protests from its participants. They stem from the fact that MMFF is being run by the Metro Manila Development Authority. The festival has been managed by Metro Manila Development Authority Chairman Bayani Fernando for six years, (2002 - 2007). Initially, the author wanted to know why and how the management of such festival was given to a government institution like the Metro Manila Development Authority. He tried to find a link between the festival and the MMDA, and discovered that MMDA’s objectives include culture and the arts as a tool for developing the region as a metropolis. With that already answered, the author began to find about how the festival is being managed. The author conducted interviews with the different players of the festival; from MMDA members to the local film organizations that help manage the festival, and from directors to producers, who are the stakeholders of the festival. He begins his presentation of data by giving the reader a background about the current condition of the local film industry and sets the field before the arrival of the Metro Manila Film Festival and the organization of local film festivals. It is followed by the Metro Manila Film Festival’s history through Presidential Decrees and Metropolitan Manila Commission Executive Orders. Then, the festival is formally introduced through its objectives and events, namely: the Parade of Stars, Showing of Movies, and the Awarding Ceremony. Subsequently, the Management Profile of the MMDA is discussed. The author found out that the festival is managed by the MMDA, along with some local film organizations like the Film Academy of the Philippines, Filipino Academy of Movie Arts and Sciences, Movie Workers Welfare Foundation, Philippine Motion Pictures Producers Association and other theater associations. Each organization has its representative to take part as a member of the Executive Committee. This committee oversees the operation of the festival with the help of other committees: Festival Secretariat, Committee on Rules and Legal Affairs, Committee on Entry/Selection, Committee on Playdate and Sales Monitoring, Committee on Finance/Budget, Committee on Parade/Security and the Board of Jurors. He analyzed the data gathered and arrived at the conclusion that MMDA, like any other institution that promotes culture and the arts as a tool for the development of the society, has the right to run the festival, provided that the interest and welfare of its stakeholders are always taken in consideration.