Exec: Films eyed to promote city

The Davao Tourism Association (DATA) is embarking on promoting the city as a tourist destination through films.
“The reason why we created film sector is simply because we want to use that platform to promote Davao,” DATA president Renato Gatchalian said on Saturday.
Gatchalian said as a result of its push for the inclusion of the film industry in promoting tourism, the association has appointed Rudolph Ian Alama as its vice president.
The association, he added, also discussed last week with the chair of Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP), Liza Diño Seguerra, the possibility of making the city the place of producing films.
“We shared with chair Liza our plan to really come up with film project that would really promote Davao as a location for big productions,” he said.
The film sector will the layout groundwork for the filmmakers “to see that Davao is very friendly to them by providing the support that they will need’ including hotels, restaurants and government assistance in terms of security during film shooting,” he said.
Most of the scenes of the film “The Art of Ligaw” will feature Davao. Among the film’s stars are KZ Tandingan and Jeffrey Quizon.
The production team is expected to be back in the city during the Kadayawan Festival, Gatchalian said.
DATA and FDCP will meet again in March to plan for a major film festival similar to the Metro Manila Film Festival and will showcase local talents and movies.