An award-winning filmmaker and longtime faculty member of the De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde (DLS-CSB) film program has been recently appointed by the Bacolod City government as director of its film festival, set to be held this September in select cinemas in the city.

The Bacolod Film Festival Council (BFFC), chaired by mayor Alfredo “Albee” Benitez with councilor Em L. Ang as co-chairperson, has designated Seymour B. Sanchez as the festival director, as per Section 7 of City Ordinance 1061-2024.

C.O. 1061-2024, also known as the Bacolod Film Festival Ordinance, is authored by Ang, chairperson of the Sangguniang Panlungsod (SP) Committee on History, Culture and Arts, with councilors Cindy Rojas and Celia Flor as co-authors.

The Bacolod Film Festival Ordinance also provides for 10 filmmakers, whether producers, directors, or writers, who are bona-fide residents of Bacolod City, to be given production grants worth P300,000 each. Ang clarified the filmmakers do not need to shoot their entire film in the city.

Sanchez signed the memorandum of agreement with the BFFC at the office of Councilor Ang last month. The SP, with vice mayor El Cid M. Familiaran as presiding officer, has confirmed the appointment of Sanchez during its 96th Regular Session on the same day.

Since May 2014, he has facilitated classes on different aspects of film. Apart from being an educator, Sanchez also served as festival director of the One La Salle Film Festival in 2018, and head of publicity and promotions of the former Cinemanila International Film Festival from 2004 to 2007. He also worked with different film festivals and film projects.

His films include Caretaker, which won second prize in the short fiction category of the sixth CAM International Festival for Short Films in Cairo, Egypt; Lababo (Kitchen Sink); Pagbugtaw (Waking Up) which bagged second place at the first Pambujan Pelikula Para sa Publiko National Short Film Festival and Competition; Shorts, third prize winner at the Viva-PBO Digitales 2; Sinulog for Beginners, which placed second in the 2006 Sinulog Video Documentary Competition; and Maria Leonor, which has been cited for its screenplay in the third Dreamanila International Film Festival.

His second full-length screenplay Hiwaga (Mystery), co-written with Christian Lacuesta, bagged the grand prize at the 59th Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards for Literature.