From fan to film critic to filmmaker: a conversation with Dodo Dayao
Date and time: November 17 at 2:00 PM-5:00 PM (GMT+8)
Location: Sine Pop, Cubao
“I wish Francis “Oggs” Cruz, Richard Bolisay, and Dodo Dayao would get space in the broadsheets because they’re far more interesting than anyone writing regularly there today.”
— Alexis Tioseco, July 2008 for Rogue Magazine
Does one need to have a film background to become a film critic? How does one develop their own niche and a voice as a critic? Are there ethical codes that must be respected when one becomes a critic and a filmmaker? How does one pan work when they belong to such a small film community? In this 3-hour in-person session open to the public, Dodo Dayao will talk about his beginnings in film criticism, transitioning into filmmaking, navigating the lines between film critic and filmmaker, and developing his niche interests as a critic and a filmmaker. Dayao will be opening the floor to conversations about how he watches films, what gaps he sees in criticism and conversations about cinema, and more.
About the Expert
DODO DAYAO wrote about films before he wrote films. He was one of the writers and editors of the book This Is Not A Film Movement and the proprietor of the now-inactive film blog Piling Piling Pelikula. His film writing has appeared on ANC, CNN, Esquire, High Life, Philippine Free Press, Vault, Cinematheque Quarterly, Pelikula Journal, and Kinopunch, among others, and he has written pieces for Cinemanila, Cinema One Originals and the Edinburgh Film Festival. He transitioned to screenwriting in 2010 and then into filmmaking in 2014, after he wrote and directed Violator (2014) followed by the short film If You Leave (2016). The last film he wrote and directed, Midnight In A Perfect World, came out in 2021. He is currently working on his next film, his first book of nonfiction, and his first book of fiction. He lives in Quezon City.