Tell us about the PSN International Film Fest 2021.
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It’s The PSN Foundation International Film Festival 2021, to be very precise about it. ThePSNFIFF 2021.
And this year is only our second outing because based on my soc-med survey last year, people didn’t really want to make contest films in the first year of the Covid-19 pandemic—what with lockdowns and quarantines.
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Also, I’m beginning to see that since we are a small festival, maybe I should just do this biennially.
People don’t have high expectations for my festival.
But I have managed to keep the thing exciting.
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This is, after all, the road to the Peter’s Prize for Film.
I started the Peter’s Prize for Literature in 2013.
In 2019, we expanded to film.
Film is still the most expensive of the Peter’s Prize category because I also have to spend for the film festival.
But I’m a happy guy, and I can still afford it. Haha!
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What are your impressions of the chosen six (6) finalists and how were they chosen?
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There’s no formula for the selection of The PSNFIFF films.
We attracted 20 films in 2019, but I had to turn one down because it didn’t follow our mechanics and guidelines for silent film.
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This year, I only received seven (7) entries.
And still, one had been withdrawn.
It was a qualified film, but the director/producers had problems with the family of one of his/her actors.
I’m pretty sure it was about a minor that was cast in sexy scenes.
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I thought it was bold, and could have probably won a prize.
But that’s a lesson about casting minors or underage actors, and not having consents and contracts.
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Just like in our first edition, the entry films this year are as varied as the colors of the rainbow.
And they are best appreciated when they are viewed one after the other.
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Quality-wise, they weren’t all technically competent.
But when you watch them, you can really say “Oh, I can do better than that!” or “Yeah, that one is the obvious winner.”
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Who will judge this year’s edition of the contest?
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I have certain favorites in the 2021 Peter’s Prize entry films.
But this year, I have decided on an all-Hollywood jury of three.
Because why not?
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I mean, I’m trying to test the universality of our storytelling and our Filipino silent films.
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Sometimes, I feel that our Filipino films are all about tourism promotion, and maybe even some political propaganda.
But how would foreigners view these films?
How would working actors judge our Filipino silent films?
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Thus, I asked the help of my American actor friends Sam Kindseth, Ian Flanders, John Paul Sutliff.
You can check for their credits online.
You can Google them. Haha!
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When is the screening and the announcement of winners?
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If Canada opens her borders as scheduled, and I’m able to go as planned, we could have another premiere in Vancouver in August as we did the last time.
But that’s just a soft premiere.
We usually have our bigger film festival in Iloilo along with the other activities of The Peter Solis Nery Foundation.
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Hopefully, and ideally, we would know the winners before the premiere.
But Hollywood is a different breed of animal.
I can only put a certain amount of pressure.
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If my juror has a paying project, I would understand that a pro bono could take a back seat.
But we will get there.
It’s just waiting for three people to find time, and give judgment to our films./PN
