#Buding Ang Babayi nga Naglutaw

[popcorn-ready-films]

Buding, Ang Babayi nga Naglutaw ( A Short Film )

This Mystery-Horror Short Film is actually a heartbreaking tale of an unfulfilled dream.

[Spoiler Warning!]

I feel like its just a MUST to give props to the team for shooting this film in a provincial environment with a script in dialect as it really set the mood of the story. Filipinos, especially those in our provinces, have a rich lore of the supernatural in our culture but what piqued my interest in this is how the film made use of it to symbolize something deeper and more mundane.

In terms of technicality, I applaud the team’s work on the audio and the visual elements because they really kept me at the edge of my seat, eyes half-covered though never really looking away. My brain cells were actively working on trying to make things out as the story unfolds and the characters share their perspectives which really tells a lot about how effective the sequencing of events were and how well-paced the plot was as a result. The second time I watched this, now knowing that there were no jump scares, I had this grand realization that this was not exactly about the supernatural but more of a motherly angst reinterpreted as a folklore.

Let’s breakdown my theory:

1. The FLOWERS, the Candles

The flowers were dead giveaways that this film is related to motherhood. The one we see in the film are Chrysanthemums, often called “mums” and are often associated with funerals and grave decorations or just generally, death.

Paired with lit candles as she was witnessed to be seen with, it implies strongly that there is a younger one who is dead that the woman seems to be grieving about. Someone she wants to connect to spiritually.

2. The Conversation

This part just confirms the first one on the list: there was an unborn baby. The young one that the woman was grieving about. The motherhood she was deprived of. This conversation took place a week before she was reportedly seen floating on top of the bed.

This scene where they talk about the things they would’ve wanted to teach their baby, this conversation about their dreams for their little one, was shown after the husband was asked by the officer if he was ever a good husband, to which the officer replies, “It seems to me that you are the one floating.”

FORESHADOWING?? THEME-STATED?? It’s the latter for me.

3. She ran away weeping, leaving the flowers and candles behind.

This was moments before she was seen floating. Let’s review what we had so far. The flowers imply motherhood and death, candles imply grieving, offering, spiritual connection. Buding, the woman whose plot circles around, left these behind to float. At the second of our list, floating could imply dreaming in this film. Is she unable to accept the fact that she lost her baby? Is she dreaming of becoming a mother again? 

So far, from all that I’ve gathered, I would say that the short-film could simply be an eerie reflection of a bereaved mother’s emotions on her miscarriage. Although, I must drop the scene which still overthrows everything I’ve built to make sense of the film:

This is the reaction of the officer after having confirmed the stories of those who have witnessed the supernatural phenomenon. What could be behind that smile? Is it a smile of utter disbelief? Surprised? Or perhaps something more sinister?

[phgq]

3 Negrense directors debut short films in Cinemalaya 2020

#PHnews: 3 Negrense directors debut short films in Cinemalaya 2020

BACOLOD CITY – Three budding Negrense filmmakers are debuting their masterpieces for exhibition in the Indie Nation Shorts section of the ongoing Cinemalaya 2020.

Featuring sceneries of northern Negros Occidental, these films include “Paon” (Bait), helmed by Seb Valdez; “Buding, Ang Babayi Nga Naglutaw,” by Mark Raymund Garcia; and “Ang Tumuluo”, by Aldrich Rosano.

Valdez and Garcia are both from Sagay City while Rosano hails from neighboring Cadiz City.

All screenings in this year’s edition of the Philippines’ biggest independent film festival are held online through Vimeo on Demand until August 16.

“We, from the cast and crew of 'Buding', are thankful to Cinemalaya for the opportunity to showcase our film in the national level,” said Garcia, a former news reporter, who also works as a consultant of the Sagay City Information and Tourism Office.

Garcia told the Philippine News Agency (PNA) on Thursday that they were glad that the film would be able to reach a wider audience through online streaming.

“We hope it would inspire more regional filmmakers to tell their story, no matter how local it is. With this opportunity, we have also expanded our network by meeting directors from other parts of the country,” the award-winning director added.

“Buding, Ang Babayi Nga Naglutaw” (Buding, The Woman Who Floated) is about three people who came to the police station to report a rather unusual incident: a woman was seen floating inside her seaside home.

The film was the winner of the 2019 Sine Negrense: Negros Island Film Festival and Cine Kasimanwa: Western Visayas Film Festival.

Receiving a combined 17 awards from two film festivals, “Buding” was also part of the 2020 Cinema Rehiyon, the largest gathering of regional filmmakers in the Philippines.

Valdez said being part of Cinemalaya 2020 means being able to tell one of the folktales of Sagay around the world through film.

“It has been an honor and a privilege for us. Some of us worked together for the first time but everybody gave their best for the project. I am beyond thankful to our team, my mother, my friends, and to Sagay City. Without them, this wouldn’t be possible,” he added.

“Paon”, the winning entry in Sagay City’s Margaha Film Festival held last February, is about the series of disappearances that occurred in Himogaan River supposedly because of a mermaid living beneath it.

The people feared this except for Andoy, a lonely fisherman living by the riverbank.

The film bagged six awards, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Cinematography, and Best Sound.

“Ang Tumuluo” (The Devotee) tells the story of Thea, an increasingly disillusioned member of the Church and her struggle with her lover and co-devotee Seva, set against the backdrop of the waning years of Marcos’ Martial Law.

Rosano’s film was one of the grantees of Cine Kasimanwa and the Department of Tourism 6 (Western Visayas) under the Western Visayas Film Grants Program last year.

The three Negrense films were selected for the Indie Nation Shorts section, along with 23 other films from around the country.

Two other films from Western Visayas – “Saliwat” by Jay Palmares and “Utwas” by Richard Salvadico and Arlie Sweet Sumagaysay – are part of the 10 films competing in the festival. (PNA)

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References:

* Philippine News Agency. "3 Negrense directors debut short films in Cinemalaya 2020." Philippine News Agency. https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1112143 (accessed August 14, 2020 at 04:26AM UTC+14).

* Philippine News Agency. "3 Negrense directors debut short films in Cinemalaya 2020." Archive Today. https://archive.ph/?run=1&url=https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1112143 (archived).

[phgq]

Sagay City emerges as filmmaking hub of Negros

#PHnews: Sagay City emerges as filmmaking hub of Negros

BACOLOD CITY – The City of Sagay is poised to become the filmmaking hub of Negros Occidental as it showcases the north’s picturesque seascape with the rich local arts and culture in the first-ever Margaha Film Festival.

“We encourage homegrown writers and directors to create a film depicting the Sagaynon heritage, culture, and lifestyle,” Mayor Alfredo Marañon III said on Friday.

The Margaha Film Festival or Sine Margaha is the first-of-its-kind in Negros Island. It is set along the kilometer-long shoreline of Margaha (black sand) beach of Sagay, where the home of famed visual artist Nunelucio Alvarado is also situated.

Slated to open on Feb. 17, the three-day festival will feature 10 films all written and directed by Sagaynons.

These include “Ang Inangtan” directed by Junmarl Alconga; “Bucket List,” by Syrha P. Soniega; “Damgo Ni Meme,” by Jeyannah Mae Ceferiano; “Gugmang Kinaadman,” by Jessa M. Arnado; “Paabot,” by Trini Archie Garcia; “Palapak,” by Marc Allan Paglinawan; “Paon,” by Seb Valdez; “Pinta” by Maureen D. Martin; “Sorhuano,” by Darren Joy Giganan; and “Tukar,” by Rayne Barong.

The directors, most of them first-time filmmakers, created the flicks based on the mapped heritage and cultural properties of Sagay.

They received a small seed fund from the city government to start their production last month. In December, the participating teams attended a workshop on cinematography, acting, and directing.

Marañon said Margaha Film Festival is an event that inspires collaboration, ingenuity, and artistry of the Negrenses.

“After the festival, the city government will form an organization of filmmakers in Sagay to continually hone their skills,” he added.

Entries to the Sine Margaha will be judged by Sagaynon artist Ronnie Lazaro, Cebuana actor and singer Chai Fonacier, film critic Tito Valiente, filmmaker Massah Gonzales-Gamboa, and Sine Negrense Festival director Adrian Torres.

The City of Sagay has partnered with the Film Development Council of the Philippines under the Office of the President to organize the event.

Other partners include artist group Syano Artlink, Office of 2nd District Rep. Leo Rafael Cueva, BG Connexxion and Moving Bridges Foundation, Northern Negros State College of Science and Technology, Department of Education Division of Sagay, and Kayab Films.

During the closing ceremony on Feb. 19, a total of 20 special awards will be given. Winners of first, second, and third best pictures will receive cash prizes worth PHP10,000, PHP8,000, and PHP5,000, respectively, while finalists will get PHP3,000 each.

In October last year, the city government launched the “Diri Sa Sagay Tourism Shorts Competition”, a city-wide student short film contest, with seven film entries from various schools.

Also, a film entry by Sagay-based director Mark Garcia titled “Buding -- Ang Babayi Nga Naglutaw” won Best Picture in the Open Category of the Sine Negrense: Negros Island Film Festival 2019 held in September. (PNA)

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References:

* Philippine News Agency. "Sagay City emerges as filmmaking hub of Negros." Philippine News Agency. https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1093868 (accessed February 15, 2020 at 01:01AM UTC+14).

* Philippine News Agency. "Sagay City emerges as filmmaking hub of Negros." Archive Today. https://archive.ph/?run=1&url=https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1093868 (archived).