This is How the 4 i-Witness Documentaries Portray Reality in Cinemalaya 2024
These four i-Witness documentaries bring awareness to the real stories of real people
Words Patricia Lanzagarita
Photo courtesy of i-Witness
August 9, 2024
Cinemalaya has long been a platform for freedom and creativity, and a vehicle for people to convey their everyday experiences. For its 20th edition, Cinemalaya showcased a strong dose of reality by screening four i-Witness documentaries.
Bawat Barya
Renowned journalist Atom Araullo’s Bawat Barya tackles the story of children who are challenged to work in exchange for coins. One of them works by rowing in the Tullahan River where he collects plastics to bring to the junk shop. Both of the main characters gather coins that drop in drainages.
This documentary portrays the realities of child labor in the Philippines. Due to enduring poverty faced by many families, children are forced to find ways to earn money instead of attending school. Bawat Barya definitely tells a powerful story and uses its platform to call out child labor.
Still from Bawat Barya
Sisid sa Putik
Another child labor story is Sisid sa Putik by journalist Mav Gonzales. In this documentary, children work by gathering mud from the creek. The mud is used to grow frog grass, a low-maintenance grass for lawns and landscapes.
Though regarded as a “bonding” activity by a certain family in the municipality, child labor is a pressing issue as children are forced to work to earn money to sustain their needs. As Mav observes, the children are forced to become adults at a tender age.
Still from Sisid sa Putik
Boat to School
A feel-good story about motherhood and volunteerism is The Boat to School by journalist Howie Severino. This documentary tells the story of a woman who serves as a mother figure for students who are studying on a nearby island. Due to poverty, many students stopped going to school after the pandemic. Nonetheless, Nanay Jen encourages them to keep going to school by cooking their meals and bringing the students by boat to the school on the other island.
Indeed, motherhood surpasses blood and familial ties. Boat to School tackles how poverty is the root of the education crisis.
Still from Boat to School
Ambulansiyang de Paa
Finally, Ambulansiyang de Paa by journalist Kara David shows how residents in an isolated island in Oriental Mindoro cope with problems in the health sector. In order to rush patients to the hospital, people make do with ambulansiyang de paa, a hammock slung from a bamboo pole, carried by two men.
The documentary sheds light on struggles with health care in the country, especially in places that are isolated and bereft of government support.
Still from Ambulansiyang de Paa
The face of reality
Cinemalaya screenings of documentaries are indeed a way to convey the different shades of reality. These four documentaries compellingly tell the real stories of real people.
On its 20th anniversary, the Philippine independent film festival stands by its mission of supporting storytellers who use the medium of film to give voice to people who are overlooked or marginalized.
