
What he couldn’t express in words to friends, Ice Seguerra decided to string together through song.
He has gone a step farther. The song, Dito Ka Lang, which he wrote during the pandemic, has been transformed into a short film, a combination docu and music video, on mental health, one of six entries in the first-ever Healthy Pilipinas Short Film Festival (HPSFF).
Ice stressed that mental health is a disease without a face. “They tell me I look okay, but deep inside, I know I’m not,” he said.
HPSFF is an initiative of the Film Development Council of the Philippines and the Department of Health, aimed at promoting a healthier citizenship.
The films will premiere at Shangri-La Plaza on June 24.
Online screenings will run from June 25 to 26.
During a virtual meet-up on June 7, FDCP Chair Liza Diño Liza said the filmfest promotes not only healthy living but also celebrates local filmmaking talents.
Six filmmakers from different regions were tapped to produce a film of not more than 17 minutes each presenting a different health issue. The six filmmakers hail from Pampanga, Cebu, Cagayan de Oro, Zamboanga, and Metro Manila.
Making it to the final six are shorts covering healthy habits on fitness and nutrition, sustainable living, substance abuse prevention, mental health, safe sex.
They are: Ang Paboritong Pinggan ni Nanay by Carlo Enciso Catu; Child’s Play by Julienne Ilagan, Brand X by Keith Deligero, Llegada by Ryanne Murcia and Zurich Chan, Life on Moon by Sheron Dayoc, and Dito Ka Lang by Ice Seguerra.