THE FLAMING FILM TEST

Watching a film for the first time is a thrilling experience, especially when it keeps you on the edge of your seat. Independent local films are exciting to watch because, as Forrest Gump said, you’ll never know what you’re going to get.

The country has multiple local film festivals year-round, whether national, regional, or even interschool competitions. But do you remember that CIIT has its own film festival?

Sine Siklab is a film festival concept founded by Ryven Rabang, former 24 Frames President, in 2019. The name came from the words “sine” for the representation of Filipino cinema, and “siklab” from the word “pasiklaban” or to show the best in people through competitions.

The film festival started as an interschool competition, where filmmakers on the campus entered their films, told their stories, and hoped to win the grand prize. The first Sine Siklab debuted with its theme, “Blazing Start” which focused on introducing a new era for the organization and in celebration of its 5th anniversary. The triumphant debut opened its doors to introducing CIIT’s finest filmmakers to showcase their films to the CIIT community.

With the first film festival being a successful run, Sine Siklab 2020 was welcomed by a challenge as the COVID outbreak started around its preparations. But that didn’t stop the organization from continuing the Siklab legacy.

Sine Siklab 2020 transitioned from onsite into a virtual film festival to push through with the event, widening the opportunities for colleges and universities to join Sine Siklab. The film festival was opened for entries nationwide, receiving 38 film entries in total. With the theme, “Burn Brighter”, 24 Frames attempts to empower people through films despite the challenges we may face, despite the height of the pandemic.

Besides the most awaited film screenings and awarding ceremony, the film organization had two Sine Siklab Masterclasses, with the first Masterclass from filmmaker Law Chen (Filmmaking in the New Normal) and actor Elijah Canlas (Acting for New Media). For the second Masterclass, they had filmmaker Celina Medina (Advanced Techniques for Cinematography) and video editor Ivan Gonzales (Advanced Techniques for Film Editing). And to get hyped for the awarding ceremony, MASTERCLASS PRO was held as a 1 hour live Q&A session for the Sine Siklab Jury and the Top 15 directors to answer any film-related questions from the audiences.

We have yet to watch an abundance of films out there, not just the famous ones we see on known streaming platforms. This is a sign to support our local filmmakers because our support keeps the Filipino film industry alive.

It’s been two years since the Sine Siklab. But rumor has it that it’s coming back this year! According to Elijah Oshea Garcia, the current 24 Frames President, the film organization will be reviving the anticipated flaming film festival. As he stated, “malapit na lumiyab muli ang Sine Siklab”.

Are you ready to catch fire?