TY - BOOK AU - Reyes-Labagnoy, Ludmila C. AU - ED - ED - ED - ED - TI - : basis for a renewed concept SN - 2 PY - 0000///46 CY - PB - KW - KW - 2 KW - 0 KW - 6 KW - 20 N1 - Thesis (M.A.) -- Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila, 2007.;A thesis presented to the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences and Education, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree in Master of Arts in Communication Management; 5 N2 - ABSTRACT: The study made use of the descriptive method to assess the contributions of the Manila Film Festival held in 2002, 2003, and 2004 in the promotion and development of Philippine cinema and the local movie industry with 30 media educators from 11 schools offering communication courses in Manila and 8 film industry workers as respondents to the survey and in-depth interview, respectively. Specifically, the study sought to answer the following problems: 1. How do the various stakeholders of the movie industry assess the Manila Film Festival in terms of the following: a. Credibility and Reputation b. Cinematic excellence c. Business Impact d. Social responsibility 2. What contributions has the Manila Film Festival made to Philippine Cinema and the Filipino movie industry? 3. To what extent has the Manila Film Festival achieved its aims? 4. What were the problems and constraints in the staging of the Manila Film Festival? 5. What are the suggestions and recommendations of the various stakeholders of the movie industry for the conduct of the Manila Film Festival? 6. Based on the assessment, what concept for a new film festival can be proposed for the revival of the Manila Film festival? The findings of the study are as follows: 1. Media practitioners and industry workers rated the MMF in various aspects. a. The credibility and reputation of the film festival has been found to be average. b. The movies obtained a good rating for their cinematic excellence. c. The film festival obtained an average rating for its social responsibility functions. d. The film festival's business impact has been found to be average 2. The Manila Film Festival has provided an avenue for the participation of established as well as independent production outfits. The film festival has yielded at least two notable movies from among the six entries in every edition. These movies have obtained a grade of B, from the Cinema Evaluation or described as moving having satisfactory ratings. The MFF has also yielded movies with a good degree of social responsibility. Cash incentives were given to the official entries and the winners of the major awards. However, the film festival failed to attract a bigger audience and performed below expectations at the box office. 3. The MFF has failed to live up to its initial reputation of being the festival of quality movies. The movies, however, were found relevant and informative, but cannot be used as educational tools. The MFF has also failed to help the producers earn well to bankroll other film productions. 4. The MFF has become a film festival of commercial movies. It has been eclipsed by and made less popular by the Metro Manila Film Festival. It was not able to attract quality entries from producers. The movies were formulaic and limited to the usual film genre. 5. Movie stakeholders suggest that the organizer has to employ the participation of personalities from the movie industry, the academe, and the media to make the film festival reputable and credible. The selection process and criteria should be left to those who are well-versed in the movie industry. The film festival should resort to adhering to the founding principle of the film fest, which is to promote quality Filipino movies. Movies should have improvements on the various technical aspects to achieve cinematic excellence. Values-formation and the promotion of Philippine history and culture should be encourage but not required. The film festival should include features and provisions for increased incentives, prizes, and subsidies alongside tax exemptions. The academe should be tapped to entice the student population. Marketing and promotional strategies are encouraged. The change or retention in playdate should be considered. The findings of the study led to the following conclusions: 1. The credibility and reputation of the Manila Film Festival is that of a festival of commercial movies. It is also less popular than the Metro Manila Film Festival. 2. The movies at the Manila Film Festival did not yield many quality movies and has failed to attract as to adopt measures to improve on all the aspects upon which it is being assessed: reputation and credibility, social responsibility, business impact, and most especially for cinematic excellence. 3. The Manila Film Festival has provided an alternative avenue for the showcase of Filipino movies but did not have the patronage of the moviegoing public. 4. The Manila Film Festival had problems that included the following: Organizers' incompetence, playdate that was not conducive to draw moviegoers; low popularity, inconsistent conduct, poor marketing and promotion strategies; low turn-out of quality entries; questionable selection process and criteria. 5. The movie stakeholders recommend the following initiatives, among others: provision of increased, more attractive incentives; imposition of tax exemptions; change or retention in playdate; improvement of marketing and promotions strategies; formation of a reputable set of organizers, selection committee, board of judges; and adoption of a new character and objective for the festival. 6. A new concept for the Manila Film Festival should be one of a competitive nature and include the participation of the movie industry, academe, students, and the various sectors of the society. Based on the findings and conclusions, the following recommendations were formulated: 1. The Manila Film Festival should be revived but with a new format and packaging with a strong political will for its sustainability. 2. Amusement tax and other taxes imposed on all local films should be abolished to encourage more movie productions. 3. A study on the income and expenditures of the Manila Film festival should be conducted to determine the necessary funding allocation for the restaging and viability of the film festival ER -