POV: BALIK7ANAW is a celebration of the continuous growth of Philippine Cinema. The celebration will last for 4 weeks. Videos from various individuals will be showcased on their Youtube channel each week.
Here are my Top 3 For week 3:
1. Butil by Roanne Elyssa P. Mirabueno
Butil cover photo
Butil is a short documentary about an 86 year old farmer who tells his stories about "palayan" he tends, situated in the heart of Calauan, Laguna.
Our country has a love for rice. It is always seen at our tables when it's time to eat. But planting rice is hard; It's not an easy job because of the long process to grow them.
The prices through the years have gone up faster than expected. The farmers who are doing the hard work aren't getting any profit from the rice they sell; instead, they get more loans and end up in more debt. The government should have given them more of the budget since we depend on them for our food sources. They are the ones who grow our fruits and others more.
Rice is like our life, it takes time for it to grow, and through that, we experience the most unexpected times. We could grow abundantly or get destroyed by a storm.
People are using our land for buildings and estates without minding that those lands could have been an excellent addition for our farmlands, an incredible help for our farmers, and the sustainability for the next generations. With fewer farmlands in the near future, we will have problems in the future. Rice is like the source of our life. It is essential for us Filipinos, and we should take a stand to protect what we still can save.
The beauty of rice planting is a fascinating thing to see, it shows the hard work of people, and if all goes well, the bountiful harvest, in the end, is a nice feeling to have. I love the cinematography in this documentary, and it was very informative.
2. Last Gig on Earth by Mariah Reodica
The Last Gig on Earth cover photo
This film is about the guitarist trying to confess her love to the same sex even though she was scared of rejection. And an alien trying to put off the invasion because she wants to rock and roll.
I did not get anything after watching this film for the first time. It wasn't evident and, I thought it was just like one of these "End of the World" themes. But it wasn't like that. The second time around, I noticed the aliens speaking in Japanese, which was interesting. Because while I was browsing the net, I did stumble upon mean comments saying these races to be aliens. So maybe this film talked about the racism of some people because of this, and that's. People believe aliens have a language of their own. Using Japanese in this didn't make sense, so I connected the dots, which led me to racism as one of the messages in this film. Coming out to people and having the courage to accept rejection is another societal issue people also experience.
These two societal issues have been going on for far too long, and as much as people are now more accepting, some are still on the dark side and are unbudged. Maybe that is why this film has a very dark vibe because even with the hint of light, the darkness can take over quickly.
3. Arrows by Martika Ramirez Escobar
Arrows cover photo
This film explores the relationships built between weaved connections.
I've always believed that all of us are connected in some ways or another. It could be from our religions, our cultures, and even from our friends. One single pole from this film can connect to a lot of other polls. Some are thicker, thinner, neat, and messy. And life is all around the place like those wires.
We're connected to this friend because of another friend. We got tangled up in this mess because of that other friend. We are pulled into things because of the connections we have and the decisions we make.
This film, in the eyes of the uninterested, could mean nothing. But I see it as the red strings of faith. Based on the things that happen, those strings could represent how strong a connection is and how messed up a situation is.
It is life in the form of strings.
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