There is a film industry revolution happening all over the world, and the Philippine film industry is no exemption. The first-ever concluded .giff Festival of New Cinema shed light on how the world of filmmaking is being transformed. The greatest challenge—how do we bridge the gap between the changing times and different generations of filmmakers?

We got to pick on the minds of two up-and-coming local directors—Simon Te ,and Mong Feliciano—who experienced the festival as guests. As filmmakers themselves, both were excited to know how the industry is adapting to the ever-changing audience who are coming from different lifestyles and living in different realities.

With Simon’s repertoire spanning mostly works with various brands for commercial, lifestyle, and fashion videos, he particularly looked forward to seeing how different filmmakers think and play with the space of film, hear unique perspectives, learn from brave artists, and catch a glimpse of what the future holds for this artform. While for Mong, whose work focuses mostly on music video, the festival delves a lot on the unconventional—from how it’s not presented in theaters to the subject matter of various film mediums.

“Film has always been a medium that strives to push the limits may it be in content or in method,” Simon shared. The festival was able to shed light on new forms of cinema—stimulating filmmakers to create works leaning towards a newer tangent like vertical video and 360 format. The emergence of these new forms of cinema which maximizes currently-available and untapped technology attracts an audience craving for excitement and out-of-the-box experiences. For Simon, it was a thrilling discovery how a platform like .giff Festival of New Cinema can connect new cinema and traditional cinema.

According to him “Bridging the new breed of filmmakers with those already established will spark the necessary conversations that will create meaningful work that will appeal to different generations.” And the festival was able to make room for industry superstars to talk about their craft and gave guests an opportunity to interact with them on a more intimate set-up—creating an accessible and enjoyable atmosphere for enthusiasts.

For Mong, .giff Festival of New Cinema became an avenue for filmmakers who braved the roads less travelled—in particular those who departed from the usual format of either full-length films or shorts and opted for newer horizons. It’s a platform that gives chances to the bold through different film formats and innovative executions that seem to have never been explored by the community of creators—all of which served as catalysts to the attendees. This is true not just for established creators but for new, emerging talents as well.

While this is still in its infancy, there is no doubt that it is an avenue that is worthy of being explored, and it came at the perfect timing. Mong perfectly encapsulated this when he shared, “People nowadays are more critical of what they’re being fed, and if we stick to the formulas that we currently have, then we wouldn’t be progressive as creatives. When we limit ourselves to things we are sure will work, it’s sticking to a cycle and never breaking it. Our audiences are ever-changing, and we as creators should follow suit.”

All industries — whether creative or not — are evolving in format and in execution, and film is no different. Creators are made to break cycles without losing connection both to the origin and to the audience being served—that’s how we strive as creatives, because at the end of the day connection gives life to meaningful work.