Film Academy of the Philippines marks 25th year

For twenty-five days, the Film Academy of the Philippines (FAP) will celebrate its silver anniversary with a nostalgic look into the highlights of the film industry. The festival will take place from April 25 to May 19, at the third floor of Ali Mall in Araneta Center, Quezon City. Established in 1981—as mandated by Executive Order No. 640-A—the Film Academy of the Philippines serves as the umbrella organization which oversees the welfare of the various guilds through subsidies, projects and opportunities that aim at upgrading the knowledge and expertise of the guild members. One of its most visible achievements is the staging of the annual Luna Awards. As a way of showing its gratitude to the millions of movie fans who have supported the film industry for the past 25 years, FAP has decided to hold the celebrity Salin-Gamit festival, the first of its kind in the Philippines and to be sponsored by Hewlett Packard. Every day, for the duration of the 25-day long festival, fans and guests will enjoy non-stop shopping and entertainment from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. For an entrance fee of only P25 per person, the public will treated to various featured activities, events and exhibits. Movie fans will also be given the opportunity to buy items during scheduled auctions of a wide selection of film memorabilia, props or costumes used in the making of various movies shown during the past 25 years. In return, the buyer will receive a special certificate from the Film Academy attesting to the authenticity of the item. This is the essence of the "Salin Gamit" festival, which takes off from the Filipino tradition of "pamana" or inheritance in which a certain valued object or thing is turned over to someone who is expected to cherish it for the sake of memory or love. Gracing the festival will be a parade of movie stars and personalities who will be at the venue on an alternating basis to meet and talk with their fans or sign autographs. All proceeds from the sale or auctions as well as other activities of the festival will be used to help fund the projects of the FAP, which include the enhancement of the welfare of movie production personnel among others. - Philippine Entertainment Portal