Student documentarists feature street artists

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The Film Development Council of the Philippines recently screened five student documentaries on arts and the community during the Dokyumentado film festival held across its cinematheque centres nationwide. The FDCP also organized a talkback session with the documentary filmmakers in Manila.

Richard Soriano Legaspi, award-winning filmmaker and faculty of the University of the East College of Fine Arts, Architecture, and Design, moderated the panel discussion with Josh Mutia, director of “Balde at Brotsa,” De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde; Trisha See, producer of “Guhit Recto,” Far Eastern University; Elvin Jay Macanlalay, one of the filmmakers of “How the Beasts Got Hyped,” UE CFAD; Jasper Tan, producer of “A Bad Name,” FEU; and Christina Alyssa “Aysie” Damaso, director of “Pinta,” Mapúa University.

The discussion provided an engaging platform for the audience, exploring the transformative power of the arts in shaping communities and emphasizing its ability to reflect and challenge societal norms.

The documentary “Balde at Brotsa” highlights three artists who must find purpose in what they create in order to understand whether or not they should act before the baggage of society falls down on them. They recount their personal struggles with different forms of societal oppression.

On the other hand, “Guhit Recto” focuses on an artist who revels in the chaos that shapes what he calls home. Having been around Recto for most of his life, Levy is shaped by the culture, and in turn, his work is derived from it. In his humble workspace at the heart of Central Market, he thrives with the help of his wife who facilitates the transactions between him and clients. For Levy, what matters is the kind of legacy he leaves – to be remembered not by his clients or his peers, but by the grandkids he spends time with – so that he can hang a portrait that can never be replicated.

Meanwhile, “How the Beasts Got Hyped” narrates the daily routine of eccentric kids who call themselves “hypebeasts.” They are seen on streets, malls, and parks swarming all over the place, including our social media feeds. Sharing a mutual interest for street style provides them with a sense of community.

In “A Bad Name,” two street artists with contrasting intentions about the artform tell the relevance of street art, while accompanied by an enigmatic graffiti which read “Bon Jovi.”

Last but not the least, “Pinta” is also a documentary focused on a graffiti artist, who started as a visual artist before turning into an activist in a cultural organization called Panday Sining. Panday Sining, which is made up of young artists who use art as a weapon of social change, is usually accused of doing acts of vandalism by spray-painting messages all over Metro Manila.

Dokyumentado aims to spotlight the documentary film genre as a dynamic medium for raising awareness, inspiring social change, and encouraging diverse perspectives.

The FDCP plans to hold a competition for the second Dokyumentado on the last quarter of the year.