07 December 2016 — The Philippine Consulate General in Dubai in coordination with the Filipino Ladies of Dubai hosted the Commencement Exercises of the Photography and Film Making Workshop at the Mabini Hall of the Philippine Consulate on December 01.

The workshop, which ran for 10 weekends from September to November 2016 for selected Filipino students from the Philippine Schools Overseas in Dubai and Sharjah, is a joint project between the Consulate General, the Filipino Ladies of Dubai, and Canon United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.). 

In his opening remarks, Consul General Paul Raymund P. Cortes emphasized the Consulate General’s vision of engaging the Filipino youth in Dubai and the Northern Emirates by providing them avenues that would upgrade their skills and generate interest in the arts and culture.

“I spoke of the need of our youth to pursue that which interests them and the more difficult task to sustain that interest and to constantly improve in their craft. I also emphasized that this project hopes that Filipino students in the UAE would be further molded to be world class talents and professionals, a repute that generations before them have enjoyed,” said the Consul General.

Parents, school faculty and administrators, and the selected students participated in the Commencement Exercises, along with representatives from Canon UAE which provided technical training for the participants. Certificates were provided to the participants and Canon UAE mentors.

The Workshop was divided into two phases: the Photography Phase which taught the students basic principles in photography and the Film Making Course, which is composed of the top ten photography students who were selected based on the photos they submitted. The best photos taken during the Photography Phase are on display at the Consulate General from December 01 to March 01, 2017.

The culmination of the Photography Phase was the publication of the coffee table book titled “Visionario,” a collection of all photos taken by the students which was distributed to all participating students and their respective schools.

 The Film Making Course, on the other hand, culminated in a seven-minute film titled “Oblivious.” The film was the group’s submission to the 48-Hour Film Project, the world’s oldest timed film making competition held in over 130 cities all over the world.END