Philippine Ambassador Meets Filipino Community in Hamburg

March 7, 2015

Hamburg-

Ambassador Melita S. Sta. Maria-Thomeczek, along with Father Simon Boiser SVD of the Philippine Catholic Mission in Hamburg and Pastor Joel Ciprez of the World International Ministries, led the opening ceremonies for the 2nd Basketball Tournament at the Sporthalle in Hamburg. The activity, which brought together Catholic and non-Catholic Filipinos in Hamburg, featured five competing teams, including one from Belgium. Members of the Federation of Filipino Organizations in Northern Germany helped organize the tournament.

Ambassador Melita S. Sta. Maria-Thomeczek poses with the Filipino community during the opening rites of the Basketball Tournament in Hamburg. Ambassador Thomeczek is joined by Pastor Joel and Father Simon Boisier.

During her opening remarks, Ambassador Sta. Maria-Thomeczek thanked the leaders, especially Father Boiser and Pastor Joel, for their efforts in enhancing solidarity in the Filipino community. Afterwards, the Ambassador met with the leaders of the Filipino community in a separate session and explained the mandate of the Philippine Embassy in Berlin, particularly in pursuing the three pillars of foreign policy. She encouraged the leaders to contribute to these efforts, especially in creating the conditions to ease the lives of Filipinos overseas. After the sharing session, Ambassador Sta. Maria-Thomeczek responded to questions from the audience.

There are over a thousand Filipinos based in Hamburg, according to the latest figures from the German Federal Statistics Office (1,130). The community in Hamburg is very well-organized, with around twenty organizations, including, among others, the Federation of Filipino Organizations in Northern Germany e.V., Mindanao Solid Group, Carinosa Group Germany e.V., Philippinisch Frauen-Gruppe e.V., Kayumanggi Bayanihan Group, Couples for Christ, and Order of the Knights of Rizal, among others. Leaders of some of these groups also took the opportunity to share their plans with the Ambassador.

A Homecoming Win for Kidlat Tahimik at the 65th Berlin Film Festival

February 13, 2015

Berlin. Film director, writer and actor Eric de Guia, aka Kidlat Tahimik, returned to the Berlin Film Festival (Berlinale) with his film, “Balikbayan #1 Memories of Overdevelopment Redux III”, which premiered on 9 February 2015, and would later win the Caligari Film Prize, which is given to a stylistically and thematically innovative film under the Berlinale’s Forum section.

Kidlat, dubbed as the “Father of Philippine Independent Cinema”, has come full circle with the premiere of Balikbayan #1 at the Berlinale. He first participated at the festival 38 years ago with his film, “Mababangong Bangungot” (Perfumed Nightmare) which earned him the International Critics Award in the 1977 Berlinale.

As explained by Kidlat, Balikbayan #1 is a project that was 35 years in the making. It reimagines the history behind Magellan’s expedition from the perspective of the “native” Enrique of Malacca. Enrique, Ferdinand Magellan’s slave and translator, is revealed to be the first true circumnavigator of the globe. The film, a blend of storytelling and documentary insight, weaves together Enrique’s story and Kidlat’s mission to produce and finish the movie.

Shortly after the film’s premiere, Kidlat garnered the the Caligari Film Award which is conferred annually to a stylistically and thematically innovative film screened at the Berlinale’s Forum section. Sponsored by members of the Bundesverband Kommunale Filmarbeit (German National Association of Communal Film Work – see: http://www.kommunale-kinos.de/) and FILMDIENST, the award includes a Euro 4,000 endowment, half of which is given to the recipient and the other half is used to fund the distribution of the film.

This year’s Caligari independent jury was composed of Michael Baute, Maximillian Becker, Barbara Fischer-Rittmeyer, Nils Daniel Peiler, and Dr. Margarete Wach. The Berlinale’s International Forum of New Cinema (Forum) section “features avant garde, experimental works, essays, long-term observations, political reportage and yet-to-be-discovered cinematic landscapes… in short, (it) is the most daring section of the Berlinale.

Kidlat explained that it was not until 2012, when he was showcasing 16mm footage of the original movie on his tour of four American universities, that he had the real impulse to finish the film. After a twenty hour flight and bus ride back to Baguio, Kidlat attended his second son’s art exhibit in Hapao. It was then that he realized that the long bearded and shaggy haired Kawayan de Guia could serve as his recycled Magellan.

Kidlat further revealed that he believed Filipino talent was a force to reckon with, “We must be proud of our culture and heritage. We are a very talented people, we can become a global force if we combine learnings from the west with that of our ancestors.”

Kidlat Tahimik was joined in Berlin by his wife Katrin, his son Kidlat, and Balikbayan #1’s producer, Mr. Chuck Gutierrez.

Following the screening, the Philippine Embassy in Berlin hosted a cocktail reception at the Akademie der Kunste (Academy of Arts). *END

The Berlinale Talent Campus: Philippine Film Industry Expands its Profile at the 65th Berlin International Film Festival

February 13, 2015

Berlin. The Philippines was strongly represented at this year’s Berlin International Film Festival (Berlinale), which took place from 5 – 15 February 2015 through the festival’s Talent Campus.

The Campus brings together annually (through the Festival) selected groups of international filmmakers: directors, screenwriters, producers, cinematographers, editors, actors, distributors, production designers, sound designers/ composers and film critics from all over the world are invited. It is an initiative of the Berlin International Film Festival, which is funded by the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and Media, in cooperation with Creative Europe MEDIA, a program of the European Union, the Robert Bosch Stiftung, the Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg, Canon, Federal Foreign Office and the German Film Fund.
Out of 2,529 aspirants from 117 countries for the Talent Campus, 300 promising filmmakers were chosen to participate in the thirteenth edition of the program with the theme, “2015: A Space Discovery”.

Nine (9) Filipino filmmakers made it to this year’s Berlinale Talent Campus.

They were cinematographer and director Dan Villegas, screenwriter and director Giancarlo Lauro Abrahan, sound designer and editor Warren Santiago, actor Sandino Martin, director Sigrid Andrea Bernardo, editor and director Charlie Gohetia, producer and director Joseph Israel Laban, director Hannah Espia, and director Rina Tsou. Participants not only got to pitch their films at the Talent Project Market, they also had one-on-one meetings with their mentors in the Project Labs and attended Master classes and panel discussions with top notch experts in the field.

Filmmaker Dan Villegas was thankful for the opportunity to be part of this year’s Berlinale Talents. He said, “My biggest takeaway from Berlinale Talents is the value of learning. I learned a lot from the classes, and I’m thankful that there are entities that give grants for further education for filmmakers.“

When asked to describe the networking aspect of Berlinale Talents, Taiwan-based Filmmaker Rina Tsou quipped, “It is probably one of the best networking platform for us upcoming young filmmakers around the world! I have been really blessed to have built connections with my Filipino and Southeast Asian filmmaker friends this time. I have always dreamed of forming a co-production base in our region, and I look forward to future possibilities. “

To further promote Philippine cinema in new markets, the Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP) for the first time took part in the European Film Market, where film producers engaged leading European and worldwide distributors. FDCP Chairman Briccio Santos along with Vice Chair Teodoro Granados led the Philippine delegation. Producer/promoter Bianca Balbuena promoted Pepe Diokno’s “Above the Clouds”, Paul Soriano’s Manny Pacquiao biopic “Kid Kulafu” and Milo Sogueco’s “Mariquina.”

The European Film Market section of the Berlinale was attended by producers, distributors, film financiers, cinema operators, buyers and sellers as well as representatives of the TV, Home Entertainment/VoD, and New Media market. The market’s nine (9) day run showcased 400 exhibiting companies which accommodated a traffic of about 70,000 visits. The Philippine film previews did not have as many buyer-viewers as expected but this was seen as a challenge for next year’s Berlinale ; the FDCP, the independent producers and the Philippine Embassy will be cooperating more closely to invite more buyer-viewers for Philippine films in future Berlinale Filmfests.

To strengthen its networking with PHL participants,the Filcom and media, Ambassador Millie Sta. Maria-Thomeczek hosted a dinner on 6 February 2015, for the FDCP, Quezon City Vice Mayor Ma. Josefina G. Belmonte, organizers of the Quezon City Film Festival, Berlinale Talent campus participants, and journalists.

Berlinale takes place every year in Berlin and is regarded as one of the world’s leading film industry events. The films that are successful in the competition are awarded Gold and Silver Bears by an international jury. Up to 400 films are presented in various sections. The 2015 Berlinale sold more than 300,000 tickets , had almost 20,000 professional visitors from 124 countries, including around 3,700 journalists, making the film festival with the largest audience worldwide. ***END

More Filipino dual citizens in Germany starting 2015

December 22, 2014

Effective 20 December 2014, children born in Germany after 01 January 2000 to parents who, upon said birth, 1) were both foreigners and 2) one parent has stayed in Germany legally for 8 years, and 3) the child has grown up in Germany, can now opt for both German citizenship and the citizenship of their parent’s country when they turn twenty one (21). Previously, children born to foreign parents had to face the difficult decision of choosing only one citizenship upon reaching twenty one (21). For many who were born of Filipino parents, this meant choosing German citizenship over Filipino citizenship.

The amended German citizenship law (German Nationality Act or StAG) has now abolished the exclusivity rule that obliged children born in Germany of foreigner parents to choose one citizenship over the other citizenship (Optionspflicht). Children born of foreigner (non-German) parents in Germany after 01 January 2000 can now have both citizenships. However there is a condition that they should have grown up in Germany. This means they have been in Germany for eight (8) years or attended a school in Germany for six (6) years, or graduated from school or occupational training in Germany.

The same exemption from the obligation to choose is applicable to those children of foreign parents who were born in Germany between 01 January 1990 and 31 December 1999 and were naturalized, becoming German citizens in the year 2000. For them, they are likewise no longer obliged to choose one from both citizenships and can therefore retain their dual citizenships provided they grew up in Germany.

The changes to the citizenship law will not affect the current rule in the Philippines that children born of mixed marriages (ex. Filipino-German) are entitled to both citizenships (dual citizenship by reason of blood).

Thus, aside from the usual dual Filipino-German citizens, born of mixed Filipino and German parents and who are therefore both Filipinos and German by birth, there is now a newer group of dual Filipino-German citizens. They are those born of Filipino parents, or of a Filipino parent and a non-German parent.

Ambassador Melita Sta. Maria-Thomeczek applauded the recent amendments to the German law. Ambassador Thomeczek stated that “the changes to the immigration law are important in ensuring that Germany continues to be an open and multicultural society. It is especially important that Fil-Ger youth, many of whom continue to closely identify themselves with the Philippines, are able to stake their claim to their parent’s homeland. No difficult decisions will have to be made – the only decision they will have to think about it is when to renew their Philippine passport!”

***END

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The Philippine Embassy in Berlin

Philippine Ambassador Meets Filipino Community in Hamburg

A Homecoming Win for Kidlat Tahimik at the 65th Berlin Film Festival

The Berlinale Talent Campus: Philippine Film Industry Expands its Profile at the 65th Berlin International Film Festival

More Filipino dual citizens in Germany starting 2015

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