By S.R.J. Pedroza

After its recently successful screenplay writing workshop with multi-awarded artist Rody Vera, Xavier Center for Culture and the Arts (XCCA) hosted another workshop on guerilla filmmaking with Davao filmmaker Orvil Bantayan on July 18-20 at Xavier University AVR 5.

The event centered on the basic principles and technicalities of film production, alongside the challenge for the Mindanaons to be more visible and active in the Philippine independent filmmaking industry.

Bantayan, who was one of the jurors during the 6th Cinemagis Digital Short Film Festival in Northern Mindanao, hopes that the workshop has inspired the participants to join the said festival in the coming years.

The sessions of the workshop’s first day included the overview of the film production, writing scenes and dialogues and motivating actors.

The workshop was participated in by more than 40 aspiring directors and film enthusiasts from the region.

The second day focused on cinematography—the visual language of the film, from the amalgamation of lights, effects and movements—and a few post-production processes such as color grading and sound designing.

The participants had an on-field application on the third day of the workshop where they were asked to shoot some scenes on a particular location and the edited shots were shown during their closing program.

For XCCA director Hobart Savior, this filmmaking workshop was aimed at discovering new talents who will join the roster Cinemagis filmmakers and to nurture storytellers not just from Cagayan de Oro City but also from other parts of NorMin.

Over the years, a handful of Cinemagis films were able to romped away national recognitions and even had an international exposure.

During the workshop, Bantayan also related his personal experiences in film production and gave the participants some valuable pieces of advice.

Aside from being a filmmaker, Bantayan is currently a videographer and editor of Alchemy of Vision and Light Film and TV Productions in his hometown.

Bantayan has directed two films, “The Midwife” (2010) and “The Altar” (2012) under the Sand Glass Media Productions and he was also the production designer of “Sonata Maria” (2014) and “Gukod sa Hapak sa Balud” (2014).