The Freethinking iChill Manila Film Festival is not a place for censorship

What sets the iChill Manila International Film Festival apart from other festivals?
iChill was born with the intention of being an underground culture theater where there’s no space for censorship and we are in support of Indie Artists. So this festival has a good load of Freethinking and LGBT films by Indie filmmakers.

The iChill Theater Cafe is a unique venue. Can you tell us more about the venue?
On our second year now we can say it has made a mark among the competition being a mixture of arts and studying place for College Students and Freethinkers. At iChill you get a free 5 min massage whenever the waitress is around and if you go to the open mic and crack a joke or sing a song , you get a free dessert with your drink!

Does iChill focus on Indie productions as well as mainstream films?
Nope. We only focus on Indie productions, leaving the mainstream for their own channels.

Is there something in particular that you look for in submissions? Or are there multiple factors?
Being a filmmaker myself it’s hard to choose and reject films, but has to be done. We look at the theme, the country and quality. Trying to give variety and interesting options to our viewers.

What is your goal at iChill?
We want to provide the Philippines with the intellectual revolution that it is screaming for. We want to be the house of underground culture in Sampaloc Manila and illuminate lives.

Where do you see or would like to see your Festival in 5 years?
With bigger venues and audiences of course where people will come because they know they can watch something impossible to watch at a mainstream venue.

Do you have any advice for Indie filmmakers? 
Based on my experience and if you want to sell your film after, definitely think of your target audience first and tailor make it for them. If the project is just artistic and for the sake of art, then never mind them.

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The iChill Manila International Film Festival
2nd Annual
Manila, Philippines