If you ever have the chance to watch the independent film Daan Patungong Kalimugtong, make sure you go watch it. (Or you might be better off buying a VCD/DVD copy if they are available because, as we noted in other movie reviews, digital Filipino films just do not translate well on big movie screens; they get overblown and lose much of their color.)
Kalimugtong is a really good film. Aside from the fact that it is well made, here are several reasons why I liked the movie: all the actors are our kailiyans (one of whom, Analyn Bangsi-il won an award as Best Child Performer); they used Ilokano as the medium (although there are also dialogues in English and Tagalog); they have beautiful shots of the mountains we all love; the musical scoring is terrific. And, oh, did I say it was a really good film?
The school year is about to begin so let’s have a quiz. Well, actually, it’s just one multiple choice question, the kind that our teachers used to give us during periodical grading exams (Not sure if that is what they still call it these days.)
Here’s a very short animation made by Jimevelyn, our kailiyan from Benguet. The video is a tribute to the world’s noblest profession and is fun to watch. Medyo bitin nga lang as the video lasts for only 19 seconds. But despite its briefness, the video is quite effective in getting its message across. It takes talent to do that, no? Can you imagine expressing your message in just 19 seconds?
Oops, we almost missed this story about our kailiyan Warren Ambat who was named last February as the Asian Region’s Innovative Teacher of the Year during the 2007 Microsoft Regional Innovative Teachers’ Awards. Just in case you missed our first blog post about him, Warren is a teacher from the Baguio City National High School who was named as one of the country’s most innovative teachers which qualified him to represent the Philippines in the Asia-wide competition in Siem Reap, Cambodia.