One Philippine entry has made it to Festival de Cinema de Alter do Chão (or AlterFest for short), a film festival that focuses on the Amazon and other indigenous cultures.
Pátok (The Mountain Carvers), a documentary film by Emmanuel Lerona, will have its international premiere in the city of Santarém, Pará, Brazil, in the competition section of AlterFestto take place on October 21-27, 2019.
AlterFest describes itself as “a meeting place between cultures around audiovisual production and other artistic manifestations.” AlterFestoffers to give “a look at the Amazon, the peoples of the world, the appreciation of nature, and the recognition of global rights”.
SPOTLIGHT ON ANTIQUE
San Remigio, Antique. Photo by Ruperto Quitag.
Set in the middle of the Antique Rice Terraces, Pátok (The Mountain Carvers) tells the story of the Iraynon Bukidnon people, an indigenous peoples’ community, of Gen. Fullon, San Remigio, Antique, as they cope with the challenge of living in a remote area while confronting the encroachment of modernity not only towards their ancestral land but in their lives in general.
Amaaram (a respected elder equivalent to a babaylan) leads a ritual of thanksgiving offered to the spirits of the land, while teachers and students talk about the struggle of getting education in a location such as theirs. A daughter talks about a dying mother’s wish to be buried back in their place while a mother talks about her children who have left for greener pastures.
DOCUMENTING FOR RECOGNITION
“Virtually nothing is known about the IraynonBukidnon in popular media as if they are a distant concept to many people”, said Lerona. “In our film, we portray the Iraynon Bukidnon not only as a people that made the Antique Rice Terraces but people with a lot of concerns just like the rest of us. The inclusion of Pátok (The Mountain Carvers) inclusion in AlterFest is very timely as we celebrate National Indigenous Peoples Month in the Philippines.”
Festival de Cinema de Alter do Chão is promoted by KriocaComunicação Production Companywith the institutional support of the Pará State Government, Pará, State Culture Secretary, Santarém Administration, Federal University of Western Pará, Pará Federal University, Fluminense Federal University and many more.
The film will also have free screenings at Festive Walk Iloilo Cinema 2 on October 19, 2019, in celebration of the National Indigenous Peoples Month. The screening is presented by UP Visayas Division of Humanities and co-presented by Festive Walk Iloilo by Megaworld Lifestyle Malls at the Iloilo Business Park. Pátok was produced with grants assistance from the National Commission for Culture and the Arts and the Commission on Higher Education through its Institutional Development and Innovation Grant program.
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