Kidlat Tahimik (YouTube screenshot/Victory Liner, Inc.)

They couldn’t have chosen a more appropriately eerie place to hold a marathon screening of five short films, all of them falling under the horrific genre.

There we were, one fine evening, at the historic, cemented yard fronting the old Diplomat Hotel, the former Dominican Retreat House and Residence of the Dominican Order, high up along Dominican Road in Baguio City. An hour or so before the open-air screenings, we had enough time to scour the area, taking pictures of the abandoned property in quite cold weather, in the height of summer.

Diplomat Hotel has been the subject of not a few horror stories, sightings, ghostings, and the stuff urban legends are made of. Trust the organizers behind the combined forces of Cinema Rehiyon 15 (CR-15) and the Montanosa Film Festival (MFF) to raise the ante in horror film viewing by situating the event in an isolated former hotel with a rich, hair-raising back story.

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Cinema Rehiyon 15, a flagship project of the National Commission on Culture and the Arts, has tied up with MFF in promoting films that tell stories rooted in the culture of the regions.

This year’s theme was “Divergence + Convergence,” in line with the overall theme of National Arts Month, which was Films with Social Commentary and Historical Memory.

Now on its 15th year, the festival, founded in 2008 by Teddy Co and Mike Rapatan, has been providing an opportunity for regional filmmakers, amateurs and professionals alike, to exhibit their films to a wider audience and to provide an opportunity for regional filmmakers to build networks.

The week-long festivity was marked by onsite and online activities such as film talks, round table discussions, and film mentoring. Within a span of eight days, the film fest screened, indoors and outdoors, at least 24 films from Montanosa and 70 from CR in different venues across Baguio.

Ferdinand Balanag, festival director, said that Montanosa aims to develop film tourism in the Cordilleras as well as boost tourism in the country’s northernmost region.

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Cinema Rehiyon 15 at Montanosa Film Festival mounted Pagliyab, the festival closing night and bonfire held at Baguio Convention Center on April 1.

It was highlighted by live storytelling of an oppressive king from long ago, complete with an audio visual component and Igorot folk dancing.

During the closing ceremony, Montanosa awarded 24 film grants to filmmakers across three categories: Narrative (P50,000), Documentary,
(P10,000) and Mobile Film (P5,000).

What a bright portent of things to come that Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong, with his wife, Arlene, graced the event. In a brief chat with this columnist, Mayor Magalong expressed the city’s support for the arts.

Oscar Casaysay, executive director of the NCCA, announced that Cinema Rehiyon 16 shall be held next year somewhere in the Visayas. Once again, the festival aims to gather the best, and also the more recent, regional films coming from Luzon, Visayas, Mindanao, and NCR.

Rene Napenas of the NCCA said Cinema Rehiyon 15 at Montanosa Film Festival would not have been possible without the support of the Cultural Center of the Philippines, Vivistop Baguio, the Cordillera School of Digital Arts, SM Baguio, and many other hotels, restaurants and other establishments in the City of Pines.