MinLand joins Guerrilla
Filmmaking 3
Kidapawan City - Mindanao Land Foundation, Inc. is competing with other experienced filmmakers from all over Mindanao in the 3rd Guerilla Filmmaking Festival’s Short Film Competition organized by the Alchemy of Vision & Light Productions.
MinLand’s entry for this festival is a short film based on true accounts of civilians who have borne the brunt of a war that has raged on for more than three decades in Mindanao, Southern Philippines.
Entitled “Kasila”, a Maguindanaon term for pepper, the film tells the story of the piquant burning taste of life’s experiences for Meriam. An unwitting victim to armed hostilities in Central Mindanao, Meriam is forced to face the challenges in her life including fleeing from the war, death of a husband and a son, separation from another child during evacuation and suffering the indignity of spending life in an evacuation center.
Throughout the film, Meriam is resilient and enduring, traits common to the meek and peace loving Maguindanao people. She survives the string of misfortunes that comes her way with a little but vital help from her people and her faith in God.
In the end, Meriam is reunited with her lost son and she continues to live life undaunted. But a road project, designed to rehabilitate war torn areas, alienates her and other neighbors.
Meriam’s character is brought to life by Pakambay Sakilan whose hard experiences of the protracted conflict in their land are etched in her heart so much so that portraying her role was not that difficult, she says. The actors and actresses of the film are residents of one of MinLand’s partner communities—Barangay Ilian, who was once a war torn area.
MinLand’s engagement to this renowned filmmaking festival is anchored on the hope that through the film, the Mindanaons are inspired to love life and continue to aspire peace and development through bridging and building good relationships with others.(MinLand/jmo)
THEATRICAL SCREENING
December 5 - 11, 2005
Gaisano Mall of Davao Cinema 4
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