Independent film festival CineFilipino received an unprecedented number of entries for its Feature-Length Filmmakers Section.

Officially launched last August 17, the competition gave interested Filipino filmmakers the chance to submit their original screenplays until last Monday, October 8. Despite the short period of time, the CineFilipino Secretariat still received almost 150 submissions from Filipinos all over the world with entries coming from as far as North America.

The chief organizers of CineFilipino headed by PLDT-Smart Foundation, MediaQuest, Studio 5 and Unitel Entertainment expressed their gratitude and excitement for what lies ahead in the competition. They are also thankful to have felt the support of the independent filmmaking community.

“We are really grateful to those who joined CineFilipino,” shares TV5 CEO and president Ray Espinosa, whose proposal to launch an independent film festival led to the birth of CineFilipino. “To receive almost 150 entries in our first year goes to show that the market is indeed ready for a new breed of filmmakers.”

In lieu of the overwhelming number of submissions, the CineFilipino Selection Committee is now faced with the exciting yet difficult task of evaluating each entry. And because the Committee wishes to devote ample time to review each and every submitted work, CineFilipino Selection Committee is extending its deliberation period until October 30, 2012.

The Committee will select the top eight finalists who will each receive a seed grant of PhP 1.5 million to fund their respective projects. The eight finalists who will showcase their works in next year’s film festival will be announced on November 8.