Mark Shandii Bacolod is a member of ABS-CBN’s Writers Circle Batch 1 - trained by the living legend Ricardo Lee and Head writer-Director Dado Lumibao. He was a writer for Television for more than 3 years with shows like Mangarap Ka, Vietnam Rose, Entertainment Konek, Pinoy Big Brother Season 1 and the 1st Celebrity Edition. He wrote stage plays and directed some during college. Shandii started his writing with poems, haikus and essays before diving into stageplays and teleseryes.
Today, he is a full time Filmmaker. A budding Director in the making. Mark Shandii Bacolod was named One of San Miguel Beer’s Freshest Filmmakers of 2006. In 2007, he directed “The Vizconde Massacre” episode of GMA-7’s Case Unclosed hosted by Kara David as well as Charlotte Dianco’s high-drama screenplay entitled, FIDEL, a semi-finalist in the Cinemalaya 2007. Fidel will have its Special Screening on August 28 at the AFP Theater in Camp Aguinaldo. He just finished his 2nd Directorial film entitled 5 MINUTES, which he already submitted to the 11th Cinemanila International Film Festival and Pusan International Film Festival 2009. His film PANAHON NA (The Time Is Now) wherein he worked as the Associate Director and Line Producer already premiered in Boston last June.
Aside from directing films, Shandii has taken on a number of roles in the filmmaking industry. His film credits include Aloy Adlawan’s SIGNOS (The Signs) as Assistant Director. Signos eventually became Best Foreign Film in the Lone Star International Film Festival in Forthworth, Texas and winner of Excellence Award in California 2007. He is the Production Manager of Sigrid Andrea Bernardo and Bong Ramos’s HAW ANG (Before Harvest), a digital film released in all SM Digital Cinemas. Shandii is also a full-time Casting Director and a part-time Actor. His TV appearances include Mangarap Ka, Ysabella and the latest MRT Commercial. Film Apperances include Mudraks, Roomboy and XENOA 2: CLASH OF THE BLOODS directed by Sean Lim. Xenoa is a sci-fi drama wherein Shandii worked as the Production Designer and Assistant Director of the said film. Now, he is also busy line producing an action-packed digital film titled 4 TO 5 to be directed by first-time directors Dan and Brandon Relucio. When not making films, he is directing events (fashion shows, awards night, etc.), music video and audio-visual presentations.
It is not surprising why his friends crowned him as the “Reyna ng Cinemalaya” (”Queen of Cinemalaya”). He has been working for at least one film for the CCP sponsored film festival since its inception in 2005. In the first year, he is one of the casts of Aloy Adlawan’s ROOMBOY wherein his good friend, Meryll Soriano won the Best Actress award. The year after, he worked on two entries, Dado Lumibao’s IN DA RED KORNER (In The Red Corner) as Production Manager and Assistant Director and Arah Jell Badayos and Margaret Guzman’s MUDRAKS (Mother) as Production Manager as well. 2007 saw him as Auraeus Solito’s Assistant Director of the multi-awarded PISAY (Philippine Science) and Associate Production Manager to Katski Flores' STILL LIFE. The movie Pisay was Cinemalaya’s Best Production Design, Audience Choice Awardee and Best Direction. Pisay eventually won 8 Golden Screen Awards and 2 awards in the Star Awards for Movies. The movie later competed in the 14th Vesoul International Film Festival bagging the Grand Jury and Audience Choice Awards. In 2008, Shandii worked on three films for Cinemalaya: as Assistant Director in Paul Morales’ CONCERTO (The Concert), his third movie with Meryll Soriano; as Associate Producer and Assistant Director in Ellen Ongkeko-Marfil’s BOSES (Voices); and as 2nd Assistant Director in Chris Martinez’s 100. The film 100 won 5 major awards in last year’s Cinemalaya festival: Best Direction and Best Screenplay for Chris Martinez, Audience Choice, and Best Actress for Mylene Dizon and Best Supporting Actress for Eugene Domingo. 100 also won the Audience Choice Award at the Pusan International Film Festival of that year. Boses and 100 together with Dante Nico Garcia’s Ploning were honored as Best Pictures at The Gawad Tanglaw. Boses bagged 5 major awards at this year's Golden Screen Awards including Best Motion Picture - Drama and Concerto won Best Production Design and Best Adapted Screenplay. Concerto and Boses also won some awards in the Star Awards for Movies.
For Cinemalaya 2009, Shandii is Assistant Director to Alvin Yapan’s ANG PANGGAGAHASA KAY FE (The Rapture of Fe). In the recently concluded Cinemalaya film festival, Fe bagged the Special Jury Prize award for Best Picture together with Jobin Ballesteros’ Colorum. Shandii is currently busy working on two films namely: MAXIMUS & MINIMUS by Nap Jamir II as Assistant Director, official entry to the Cinema One Originals Film Festival 2009; and FLING by Han Salazar as an actor playing a major supporting role. Shandii admits he loves his job as a Filmmaker as he derives a different passion from it. This passion, he readily shares with everyone he works with in the industry.
