Home-grown film-makers in Ilocos Norte document province’s heritage

Ilocos Norte celebrates its 203rd founding anniversary this February with 10 groups of home-grown young film-makers capturing Ilocos Norte’s culture and ordinary life. SCREENGRABBED FROM ILOCOS NORTE PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENT

LAOAG CITY –– Ten groups of young Ilocano film-makers were given the chance to document the province’s fading culture and local industries to preserve them in the next years to come.

Aianree Raquel, Ilocos Norte provincial tourism officer, said the province’s celebration of its 203rd founding anniversary this month would be highlighted by the “Tan-ok ni Ilocano” (Greatness of Ilocano) film festival.

“The film festival is our way to document and record Ilocos Norte’s heritage and tradition, but at the same time, it allows us to reflect on our present social condition as narrated by our people, those who are living the story,” Raquel told the Inquirer.

Under the film festival, the participating film-makers received a seed grant of P25,000 each from the Department of Tourism (DOT) to produce documentaries featuring Ilocos Norte’s food heritage, well-known local industries, such as “panag-asin” (salt-making) and “panaggamet” (seaweed harvesting), and Ilocos Norte’s emerging sea free-diving community.

The film-makers also created a documentary on the life of the “inabel” (Ilocano fabric) icon and National Living Treasure Magdalena Gamayo, the fading “tamboreros” (traditional Ilocano drum players), and the journey of Ilocano Sakadas of Hawaii.

Aside from receiving a seed grant, the film-makers also underwent a rigorous workshop and mentoring with film-making and script-writing veterans Floy Quintos, Lexter Tarriela, and Steven Evangelio.

The documentaries would be screened starting Monday, Feb. 1 at this City’s La Tabacalera Lifestyle Center and Feb. 2 at the Paoay Sand Dunes. There will also be a screening in the province’s town plazas, and across the Ilocos region in partnership with DOT, according to Raquel.

The awards night, sponsored by the Tourism Promotions Board of the Philippines, would be held on Feb. 3 at the Ilocos Norte Capitol. The grand-prize winner and the subject of the documentaries would receive P50,000 each, Raquel said.

LZB