Apo Whang-Od docu to be screened at Vancouver International Film Festival

APO WHANG-OD in a scene from “Treasure of the rice terraces.” Picture: Emmett Sparling by way of Treasure of the Rice Terraces’ Official web site

‘Treasure of the Rice Terraces’, a documentary investigating the roots of conventional Mambabatoks by the angle of the native tattoo artist APO WHANG-OD And her college students are proven on the Vancouver Worldwide Movie Pageant (VIFF) in October.

“Treasure of the Rice Terraces” is directed by the Filipino-Canadian filmmaker Kent Donguinines, who returned to the Philippines to make contact along with his roots once more within the hope of “weakened conventional id between many Filipinos he is aware of and meets.”

Filmed in Canada and the Philippines (particularly within the Kalinga area), the documentary additionally emphasizes the significance of “preserving the tattoo tradition for future generations”, whereas “problems with id, cultural leisure, stigmatization and discrimination of tattooed people” counteract. “

In keeping with Donguines, the concept of ​​the documentary happened in 2016 when he was nonetheless on the movie college.

“Once I grew up, I typically felt disconnected from my tradition, and this documentary is my option to reclaim that information. This movie is my effort to reclaim my heritage and to problem the exploitation that our tradition has fashioned,” he stated on his official web site.

“The movie emphasizes the wealthy traditions of the indigenous Filipino neighborhood in Buscalan, which exhibits how their tradition has advanced by way of colonization and Western affect. It additionally data their resilience in adapting to the robust terrain,” he continued.

The documentary additionally accommodates performances by Miss Universe Filippijnen 2023 Michelle Dee, Miss Universe Philippines 2022 Celeste Cortesi, Kim Atienza, Mark Bumgarner, Grace Palicas and Lars Krugak.

The documentary is proven on October 5 and 6.

The Vancouver Worldwide Movie Pageant (VIFF) runs from 2 to 11 October. /RA