Balangay Film – Mga Kwento ng Klima Short Films 2024

Overview

The Mga Kwento ng Klima Short Films is a competition for independent and professional filmmakers launched by the Oscar M. Lopez Center in 2022 which aims to capture the unique Filipino experience of climate change, and more importantly, convey the need for urgent climate action.

This initiative is part of the Center’s Balangay Project, which aims to engage a broader network in the discussion on climate change to enable collective action.

For the MKK Shorts 2024, the Center partners with the GIZ Philippines, the Film Development Council of the Philippines, and the National Commission for Culture and the Arts.

Objectives

The MKK Shorts 2024 targets to increase awareness and documentation of the impacts of climate change in the country through a short film competition that encourages the generation, visualization and documentation of lived experiences of local climate realities.

Project Design and Methods

Entry Requirements & Preliminary Screening

To join the competition, interested filmmakers must submit a film pitch deck that will result in a 5-minute film that has the following specifications:

• Live-action film in narrative format;
• Film may be in any of the following genres: drama, comedy, musical, action, suspense, historical or science fiction. Documentary and animated films will not be accepted;
• Film narrative must have a strong climate lens. Narratives may address climate change impacts and risks, such as on local communities, agriculture and fisheries, forestry, biodiversity, health, freshwater resources, ecosystems, and sustainable development, among others.
  
  Narratives on the environment, biodiversity, and other similar topics with no climate lens will not be accepted.

Note: The deadline for submission of the film pitch deck is until July 20, 2024. Interested filmmakers can submit a maximum of two (2) film pitch decks to the MKK Shorts 2024. Pitch decks must be submitted through our Registration Form.

Film pitch deck template can be accessed here.

Production Seed Grant

This year’s edition aims to provide increased funding to participating filmmakers to help cover a range of film production costs–from pre-production to post-production. 

Preliminary Screening

All submitted film pitch decks will undergo preliminary screening by a panel composed of the OML Center, film consultant, and partner representatives. The screening will be evaluated based on the climate lens, story concept, director’s vision, and proposed creative approach. 

The Top 15 pitch decks will qualify for the MKK Shorts 2024 and will receive a Production Seed Fund of Php 30,000.00.

The Top 15 will be required to attend the General Assembly and the Climate Film Labs.

Second Screening

After the Climate Film Labs, the Top 15 participants will submit their final film entries. From these, the Top 10, selected for their technical excellence and strong climate storytelling, will advance to the final judging and awarding ceremony.

All Top 10 films shall receive an additional P70,000.

Note: The release of each grant is scheduled to be given after the final results of each screening or the two-tier review.

General Assembly and Climate Film Labs

General Assembly

All qualifying participants to the MKK Short Films will be invited to attend a General Assembly (GA) organized by the Center and other potential partners. 

The GA will focus equally on the power of visual storytelling in propelling and enabling societal change, and on the completion of pre-film production processes and documentations (e.g., co-ownership agreement, release of production seed grant).

Aside from inputs from an inspirational speaker, content may also include rationale of the competition, mechanics, submission requirements and judging process, introduction to the Climate Film Labs, and the importance of the Co-Ownership Agreement.

Climate Film Labs

The Climate Film Labs (CFL) is a workshop-type laboratory that provides filmmakers with the opportunity to be matched with resource persons and mentors who can aid them in climate science, storytelling, and filmmaking.

For the MKK Short Films 2024, the independent and professional filmmakers will be provided modules that focus on matching them with climate science mentors with whom they can consult on the climate aspects of their stories, experienced climate filmmakers / storytellers who can provide inputs on how to tackle science-based stories, experts who can provide advice on the technical aspects and best practices of mobile filmmaking, and resource persons who can provide insights on film audiences and distribution.

CFL modules may be in plenary or one-on-one mentoring formats.

• Plenary sessions will feature resource persons who will be given time to discuss an assigned topic, including a period for Q&A. After the discussion of the topic/s, participating teams shall be given an opportunity to briefly consult with the resource persons in breakout sessions on how to develop their stories and films.
• Mentoring sessions will provide a more individualized interaction between the official participating filmmakers and pre-assigned Science and Film mentors who will assess and critique teams’ stories, and provide helpful recommendations on improving their film outputs.

Official participating filmmakers must ensure that at least one team member is able to attend each Climate Film Lab session.

To ensure the inclusion of every filmmaker, labs will be scheduled in the evenings or weekends.

Film Submission and Awarding

Official participating Filmmakers will be given two (2)  months to produce their film post-climate film labs. Prizes will be awarded to the top film and selected finalists. 

Organizers will be joined by a panel of distinguished judges from the film industry and scientific community to evaluate the final film submissions. Criteria for judging will include climate lens and story concept, direction, screenplay, cinematography, production design, editing, and musical scoring.

Prizes

On top of the seed grants, the MKK Shorts 2024 will also award cash prizes to the Top 3 films of the competition during the awarding ceremony.

Best Film – Php 100,000 cash prize
2nd Placer  – Php 70,000 cash prize
3rd Placer  – Php 50,000 cash prize

The following Special Awards will also be given to receive Php 10,000 each:

• Best Director 
• Best Editing 
• Best Performance
• Best Screenplay
• Best Cinematography 
• Best Production Design 
• Best Musical Scoring and Sound Design 
• Audience Choice Award

Film Promotion, Distribution & Ownership

The OML Center will support the promotion, non-exclusive distribution, and showing of all finalists (up to ten) after the conclusion of the competition.

The Center will also collaborate with FDCP’s Cinematheque Centres for on-site screenings and will continue to accommodate requests for film screenings or non-commercial use of the films for relevant programs and activities.

Participating production teams will also be strongly encouraged to host film screenings in their localities following the competition. Logistical support may be provided by OML Center and its partners.

Intellectual property rights shall be co-owned by the filmmakers with the OML Center.

The OML Center shall have royalty-free rights to use, disclose, and publicly display the entries for information, education, and communication (IEC) purposes, provided that such uses shall have no commercial gain for the OML Center.

The OML Center shall have royalty-free rights to use, disclose, and publicly display the entries for information, education, and communication (IEC) purposes, provided that such uses shall have no commercial gain for the OML Center. Partners will also be provided with a one-year (renewable) license to use the films for non-commercial and IEC purposes.