The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) will conduct the Film, Animation, and Gaming Congress 2012 this coming July 26-27, 2012 at the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) Little Theatre, CCP Complex, Pasay City.

 

The two day conference, with the theme “Made in the Philippines: Storytelling to Storyselling” will serve as a venue for the local stakeholders to identify issues, challenges, and opportunities for the Philippine Creative Industries, and to formulate recommendations for the development of the globally competitive Creative Services in the country.

 

Relevant stakeholders coming from various sectors will attend the event including the filmmakers (directors/producers), original content creators (storywriters for film, anime, game development, web), members and freelancers from the local creative industries, members of the academe, owners of media outfits, potential investors, film industry NGOs, and government officials.

 

Distinguished leaders and experts from the international film and entertainment scene will be joining the discussions such as Ralph Guggenheim, founding member of computer animation company Pixar; Eli Noyes, filmmaker and President of Alligator Planet LLC, a California-based animation production consultancy firm; David Kostiner, Esq., US-based entertainment lawyer; and Audie Guevarra, entertainment production manager and the current manager of Apl d Ap of Black Eyed Peas.

 

The Creative Services is one of the sectors pushed by the DTI for trade and investment promotion, recognizing Filipino’s world class creative talent, English-speaking workforce, and the industry’s promising global potentials.

 

Recently, President Benigno S. Aquino III approved the Investment Priorities Plan (IPP) 2012 that include the Creative Industries under the preferred activities, which entitles the investors to incentives such as income tax holiday, duty free importation of capital equipment, tax exemptions, among others.

 

In 2011, the creative services sector reported revenue was about USD142M for the animation and USD7M for the game development, and employs almost 10,000 creative and support workers.

 

The Film, Animation, and Gaming Congress 2012, which will coincide with the Cinemalaya Film Festival, is organized by the DTI, Half Ton Truck Productions, and ActivAsia Inc. in cooperation with the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) and the Cinemalaya Foundation.