A week before I started working, I was lucky enough to be given a free media pass to last year’s Cinemalaya Independent Film Festival at the Cultural Center. The only requirement was that I watch every movie. I was more than happy to oblige. I would trek to the CCP every morning, shuttle between screenings (sometimes run), and go home late at night satisfied and with a lingering headache from staring at a screen the whole day. That’s my version of a movie marathon. And I did that for six days. My finally tally was 22 movies.

The Ateneo Video Open, now on its eleventh year, is an annual nationwide film competition open to collegiate-level filmmakers. It’s organized by the Loyola Film Circle, the Ateneo de Manila University’s premiere film organization.

The event aims to highlight the effective use of aesthetically pleasing films as media for social discourse. There are four categories: short narrative, music video, documentary, and experimental.

Screenings of entries will be on the weekends of February and March. Venues will be announced. The competition will end in an awards night where cash prizes await the winners of each category judged by renowned persons in the field of film and art.

Visit the official website: http://ateneovideoopen11.multiply.com to view the rules, regulations and mechanics. Application forms are also available in the website. Deadline of entries is on January 22. 2010.

For inquiries, contact the AVO Team at ateneovideoopen11@yahoo.com and at ateneovideoopen11@gmail.com, 0916-228-45-67 or 0917-327-70-55.