This year's FEST Film Lab has brought together award-winning Hollywood personalities such as Andrew McAlpine and Gemma Jackson to discuss production design with Filipino filmmakers and producers.

Also joining the 6-day workshops were Mark Ulano and Patrushkha Mierzwa who both discussed sound, Alex Rodriguez who discussed film editing, and Paul Miller, film financing.

During a press conference, the mentors shared their thoughts on the local film scene.

Known for his longtime collaborative work with Quentin Tarantino, Mark remarked that Filipino Filmmakers have a "self-evident talent base.'' 

"I think we have really committed, talented, dedicated professionals here. The challenges they're facing in terms of economics, workflow, and other things mirror most of what's happening in other parts of the world. As the film industry is substantive, and it always has been, it has transitioned in terms of its method of monetizing, its method of distribution, and its methods of production," Mark said.

"One of the things that we try to bring when we come to a regional film community is to demystify some of the aspects of what we do creatively and professionally, but to also encourage confidence in the value and capabilities that we have. Because often in a regional film community, there's this idea, we're small, we're not knowledgeable, and none of that is true most of the time," he continued.

Mark also mentioned that the attendees have brought a vibrant aura during their workshop. "I think you have a vibrant, talented community based on the people we were fortunate enough to meet. And they need your support. They need to be recognized and acknowledged both in terms of their craft level and their professional counsel to the productions they work on. So you have a great resource, and if you keep nurturing it, think it's going to produce even better results than we've seen so far."

Mark started his career in 1974, recording sound professionally for film. He was a four-time Oscar nominee, most recently for “Once Upon A Time in Hollywood,” “Ad Astra,” and “Inglorious Basterds."

Mark also earned an Academy Award for Sound Mixing for “Titanic” and the Cinema Audio Society Award for Best Sound Mixing for a Feature Film.

His work can also be heard in “Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance With Somebody” and Martin Scorsese’s “Killers of the Flower Moon."

Meanwhile, Andrew, who won a BAFTA for his work on "The Piano", pointed out that Philippine Cinema has matured over the years.

"The Philippines has one of the oldest film histories in the world. And this is to be remembered and to be celebrated.  And that's what we were doing. We are celebrating their history and the talent that goes with it," he said.

Andrew remarked that he had a lot of fun and was impressed with the attendees during his workshop.

"The art department itself has changed over the years. It hasn't changed so much because we still have to grasp the concept of the movie," Andrew said.

"We still have to think about the basis or the ethics behind the visuals in this movie. Where do we find the storytelling? Is it a national story we're telling? International story? Is it sci-fi? Is it a documentary formatted with drama, etc.? So we talked a lot about how the demands on the art department vary with what the notion of the film is looking to do. We then talked about material costs. We talked about many, many things," he added.

His wife, Gemma, known for her work in "Game of Thrones," praised Filipino Filmmakers for being "responsive."

"I really enjoyed talking to them and their feedback. I just really talked about my process and what I did for them to pick up on. And they were fabulous. They were very responsive. And I think if they had a few more pennies in their budget,  it would have been even more fun. I think it's all over the world,  but particularly out here, I think the budgets are tough," she said.

Paul mentioned how impressed he is with how Filipino filmmakers are continuously working with the government and private sectors to grow the film community.

"We do a thing in my session where we pitch each other ideas and I was really struck again by the wonderful stories coming out of the Philippines that I think work, obviously, for a Philippine audience. But I really think they have the potential to be grown internationally. There were a couple stories in particular that I remember, but we’re still thinking about how welcome it would be to be seen by the rest of the world,” he said.

Paul is currently head of film at the Madrid-based ISB Films. His most recent film, "Norah," premiered at Un Certain Regard at Cannes 2024.