Last night, a couple of us friends went to see the Filipino-American documentary, "The Gift of Barong." I learned about it through my friend from college, Emma, whose boyfriend wrote and directed the film. I told my friend Laurice about it and she agreed to watch it with me. When I brought it up to the Tropa, it turns out another friend, Ferlie, who works with the Filipinas magazine is scheduled to see it, too. Two other friends said they would come with us, but in the end it was just Lau, Ferlie, and myself who watched it (with Ferlie's co-workers).
The Gift of Barong is a wanderlustproject. It is produced by Dan Moreno and Benito Bautista (Emma's boyfriend). It is written and directed by Benito (as I mentioned above).
The Gift of Barong (according to the makers of the film) is a film about two generations of Filipino-American surfers in the Bay Area who traveled to the Philippines to immerse in the culture, surf the magnificent waves of the Philippine seas, and rediscover themselves.
It is a wonderful film! I thought that I would fall asleep in the middle of the film (as I was very sleepy that night), but the film was so interesting, it kept me wide awake! How I wished we invited more Filipino friends to see it with us. I didn't know what to expect. I didn't know how good the film was. So, I kept mum about it. I hope it'll be entered at the SF International Film Festival, so that more Filipinos can see it. :-)
The film is about how Filipino Americans (those who grew up here) became ashamed of their cultural and ethnic heritage. They don't consider themselves Filipinos, but Americans. And it's amazing how through surfing the majestic waves of the Philippine seas, these two Filipino Americans reconnected with their heritage. It's a touching film. And it made me proud to be a Filipino after watching it. And how I wished they had DVDs or VCDs of that film, so I can show it to my Filipino American cousins, and maybe, just maybe, they won't end up hiding or being ashamed of their Filipino heritage.
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6 comments:
hey binut! dyan lang ba sa CA pinalabas yon? sana nga magkaron ng vcds or dvds so we could watch it too! balitaan mo kami ha! =)
yep ... unfortunately, dito lang sa San Francisco pinalabas itong film na ito ... but hopefully, with the support of the Filipino/Fil-Am community, it can be shown sa ibang states. And hopefully din, they can mass produce it. Pag may vcd or dvd na, I'll send you one!
thanks binut! sana nga ipalabas sa ibang states. lapit na "fiesta" ng mga pinoy dito sa Tampa eh. =)
Would be nice to see this.
It is a shame when people fail to see the beauty of their cultural heritage. That is actually one of my reservations with settling down here in the US. Should God grant me the grace of being able to start my own family and raise kids, I would want them to know and be proud of the fact that they are Filipinos.
Thankfully, most of my cousins who were born and/or raised here are still proud to say that they are Filipino.
ako rin! pag nagkababy kami, ayokong americanized. gusto ko nagpo-"po" at "opo" pa rin, nagmamano, at hindi sumasagot sa matatanda.
well then, intayin nyong makita ako behind bars pag namalo ako ng anak. hehehe. wag naman sana! *crosses fingers*
Though almost all Filipino parents I know want their kids to grow up Filipino, a lot of them fail. BUT, don't give up hope Harbs, 'coz I have an uncle (my dad's first cousin) who still says "Po and Opo" when talking to elders. And he attributes it to his dad's way of disciplining them. :-) Basta, don't give in, B-Harbs! I'm sure Pinoy na Pinoy anak nyo. And with the parenting techniques that you can learn from your parents, I'm sure magiging super bait ng anak mo. So no need for "palo" na. ;-)
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