THE PHILIPPINES, OCTOBER 2011: Hoping to transform Zamboanga through the power of art, the Office of Culture and Design (OCD) developed the Zamboanga Hace, inviting international artists to not only teach the province’s youth about the wonder of art, but also to inspire socio-political change.
In the penultimate session of the four-part series, the OCD invited Carlos Casas, a Spanish filmmaker whose work is dubbed “experimental documentary”, and Martha Atienza, a Filipino/Dutch who films social and community-based videos. The two filmmakers shared their experiences and insights to an audience in the Ayala Museum last October 12.
“My work gives a chance for places and people that are not known or portrayed to be known or portrayed,” said Casas. “I want to make little stories [into] big stories.”
Casas showed film clips of one of his works centered on Peter, an old man living in isolation in Patagonia after he lost his family in an earthquake. Through the filming process, Peter slowly opened up to Casas and his crew, and they discovered that Peter had once been a professional football player and had been playing for his team when the earthquake struck.
“I have learned to become invisible to my subjects,” shared Casas. He doesn’t believe in forcing the story out of people by asking them questions, but rather letting them open up voluntarily. It takes a lot of time, Casas admitted, but the results are much more rewarding.
For her part, Atienza confessed to be a “crazy collector of memories” since she was a little girl. Her childhood in Bantayan Island in Cebu and being a daughter of a seafarer had made her aware of the lives of the men of the sea. Her video art, films that depict snapshots of reality, have been exhibited internationally.
Atienza showed photos and short clips from her documentary “Gilubong ang Akong Pusod sa Dagat (My Navel is Deep in the Sea)” about the fishermen of Bantayan and their families, and the effect that this source of livelihood affect their lives. “[The fishermen] are away for long periods of time, so they don’t know what is happening in their homes. The people shared stories with me and they never seem to stop,” recalled Atienza.
For more on Zamboange Hace, visit the workshops’ Facebook page or the OCD Facebook page.
Carlos Casas image courtesy of Francisco Guerrero
