by Alessandro Kennz Nioda, Department of English Language and Literature

Just recently, Pelikula: A Journal of Philippine Cinema and Moving Image released the list of fellows that will be part of the inaugural Pelikula Places: Seminar and Mentorship Program on Writing and Publishing for Film Journals.

Of the 12 fellows, five are from the Xavier Ateneo community.

Two are faculty members of the Department of English Language and Literature, namely Abigail C James and Alessandro Kennz Nioda.

Another two are undergraduates, Kelly Camille Alair (ABLit 4) and Kent Meckhan Tagarda (BSDC 4), while the fifth fellow, Orpheus Nery, is a former student.

The rest of the fellows are Cagayan de Oro–based Rodiell Veloso and six others who hail from General Santos City.

The months-long program will consist of collaborations, workshops, seminars, and mentorship that will “engage with new and emergent writers and cinephiles with roots in and attachments to local art communities to publish dossiers that could serve as forays and markers into understanding the works, cultures, and histories of placemaking and place-based moving images.”

Pelikula, a journal published by the University of the Philippines Film Institute, conducts its extension program, Pelikula Places, in partnership with the UP Diliman Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research and Development–Office of Extension Coordination, to “broaden and deepen the journal’s goal of documenting Filipino moving image production beyond conventionally recognized centers.”

This year’s program aims to collaborate with writers from CDO and GenSan that can “document and engage with filmmaking activities, the filmmaking communities, and the films of their respective places.”