1.“In Memoriam” by Jeremy Quing
This film is a documentary about elderly people being placed in an institution known as "Sinag Kalinga". The interviews conducted have tackled the lives and narratives of elderly individuals upon how they got to the institution. It is my first pick because it's a very substantial film, given that it's a short form of documentary. I love how the concept and the flow of the story are well-arranged and produced. Furthermore, it has stable angles and camera movements. The background music also matches the mood making the atmosphere even more sentimental and emotional. Most importantly, it has successfully conveyed a clear message, which is to not neglect our elderly and value them while they're still alive.
Honestly, the documentary really moved me as I grew up with a Grandmother by my side. I can't imagine putting my beloved Grandma in an elderly institution, though the institution takes really good care of the elderly, still, I would never want her to feel like she's being abandoned. These people once fed and raised us hence we should never have the audacity to make them feel unwanted. Elders are really close to my heart and I have so much love and respect for them. Without them, we are nothing, so it's just right to cherish and love them while they're still with us. Instead of making them feel less relevant, we should take better care of them. We must keep in mind that the love they once gave to raise and nurture us is something we can never repay.
2. “Butil” by Roanne Elyssa P. Mirabueno
My second liked film is also a short documentary. It's a documentary about rice as to how it's first planted, cultivated, and later harvested. Mr. Cipriano Piring Brosas, a veteran farmer, shared in the interview the struggles and challenges of being a farmer in the Philippines. The documentary was really well-made especially the flow of interviews. The filming of ricefield and rice processing is really fascinating. The concept and message are clear so it's certainly stream-worthy for me. Meanwhile in light to all farmers, Mr. Brosas brought knowledge to me that farming requires not just hard work but also patience and perseverance to keep going. It's not only the constant storms, typhoons and pests that challenge the farmers but as well as the high expenses and growth in population that's in fact a dilemma in the country. Farmers also need privileges in order to make them feel valued and important in the society because whether we like it or not, we need them to survive.
I firmly believe that farmers need to have more credits on their field of job. Instead of importing products from foreign countries, we should purchase commodities from our own farmers. Nowadays, people are becoming more ambitious wanting to be in the professional field hence even to the countryside, only lesser individuals wanted to farm. I also felt guilty when it was shown that 4.8 billion worth of rice goes to waste yearly in our country thinking I'm one contributor of those numbers. It's a shame how we neglect the hardworks of our farmers by not finishing all the rice on our plates. There have been lots of hungry individuals out there yet we take our privileges for granted. Just imagining what our farmers went through just to provide food on our tables is heart-wrecking especially knowing how most of us were unconcerned. This film is indeed an eye-opener to me. It has made me value and appreciate our farmers even more and want to restrict myself from wasting food.
3. “Lunas” ni Marvin Cabangunay
The film depicts the life of Mang Eduardo who's battling with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis or commonly called as ALS, a disease that results to progressive loss of control in muscle movements. Accordingly, only two out of one hundred thousand individuals acquire the said rare disease. Though ALS restricts the person from moving normally, Mang Eduardo has never limited himself to keep going in life. His story is actually heart-breaking yet motivating at the same time. He showed to me that there's strength in faith and determination. He knew his illness don't have cure but he's willing to offer himself just to help find cure for others like him. If strong is a person, I could say that would be Mang Eduardo.
The film's quality on the other hand is quite presentable. I like the arrangement of footages especially when Mang Eduardo do his chores despite of his difficulty to move. The narration is also fair and I'd like to commend the script because it's really well-written. The documentary is also very substantial as it brings us knowledge in regards to rare disease like ALS. It's important that we acknowledge that there are people out there in the world who's experiencing physical and emotional pain from incurable diseases. I really admire Mang Eduardo because he literally experienced all types of pain, which the worst pain of all was the emotional pain he felt when he was left alone by his family. I can't imagine all those body pains and emotional turmoil he went through. It must be so hard that dying already feels like blessing, but I respect Mang Eduardo for choosing to live regardless of those challenges.
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