This week our MA student Adrian Alarilla tells us about the project he has been working on that you can see this June.
The Diwa Filipino Film Showcase is a growing community film festival in Seattle that celebrates the Filipino Spirit wherever it resides, by exhibiting independent films from the Philippine islands and beyond. For the 4th edition of Diwa, happening this year at the Seattle Center Armory Loft 1 on June 3 and 4, the line-up of films from the Philippines and the Filipino diaspora promises to be very exciting, with film subjects ranging from indigenous myths and folklore, to the issues that contemporary diasporic Filipinos face every day.
Some highlights include “Kalumaran,” which documents the struggle of the Lumads, the indigenous peoples of Mindanao, as they fight for their land rights amidst rapid development. Meanwhile, “The Girl and the Typhoons,” hosted by Marion Cotillard, follows the life of a young survivor of Typhoon Haiyan on her journey to help stop climate change. “Grandma Loleng” and “Forgotten Sex Slaves” both talk about the struggles of Filipino comfort women whose scars, both physical and emotional, have yet to heal. Explore the “Maidens and Monsters” of Philippine mythology as well as our own inner demons, then watch “Vampariah,” a contemporary Filipino-American take on manananggal folklore. “Marz,” “Pamanhikan,” and “It Runs in the Family” all explore what it means to be LGBTQ Filipinos. Admission for all screenings is free and open to everyone. For a complete listing of films, you can visit the Diwa Film Festival Facebook page here.
The showcase is spearheaded by our very own MA student Adrian Alarilla, who will also be holding a talk on first-person documentary filmmaking in the Filipino diaspora. The talk, “Tiny, Great Realities,” is part of the Northwest Folklife Festival, and will be held at the SIFF Film Center on May 28, at 3:00pm.
Diwa is part of the annual Pagdiriwang Philippine Festival, perhaps the biggest festival of Filipino arts and culture in the Pacific Northwest. This celebration is a part of Seattle Center Festál, a series of cultural programs sponsored by the City of Seattle. Pagdiriwang provides a venue for Filipinos and non-Filipinos alike to learn about the culture. It is an ideal setting for presenting art, dance, music, history, literature, and with the addition of the Diwa Film Showcase, film, in order to promote better understanding of the Filipino cultural heritage.