I-Witness holds docu fest in schools

MANILA, Philippines - For 13 years, GMA’s longest-running public affairs program I-Witness has remained in the forefront of the broadcast industry’s call for social awareness and responsibility. Through its compelling stories and in-depth documentaries, I-Witness continues to inspire and influence the viewing public.

I-Witness taps the next generation of storytellers through Homecoming, a special activity wherein its four hosts —Howie Severino, Kara David, Jay Taruc and Sandra Aguinaldo — revisit their respective alma mater to attend free screenings of their highly-acclaimed docus.

Homecoming kicked off its first leg at the Ateneo de Manila University last July 12. Howie, an Ateneo High School alumnus, went back to the university to lead an audience of senior high school students in a special screening of his docus Saplot and Daloy.

In Saplot, Howie travels to some of the poorest rural areas in the country and walks barefoot with children who cannot afford to buy new slippers. In Daloy, he and his team join a dangerous kayak expedition that traverses the water trail from the rapids of Pagsanjan to the waters of Manila Bay.

Today, Jay travels back to Centro Escolar University in Manila where he graduated with an AB Mass Communications degree in 1992. His docus Lapnos, harrowing stories of burn victims with long-healing wounds at the Mindanao Burn Center, and Ahon, tales of survival in Cagayan de Oro during Typhoon Sendong’s deadly aftermath, will be screened, starting 10 a.m., at the Librada Avelino Auditorium.

Kara, meanwhile, will visit her Alma Mater, the University of the Philippines Diliman, where she earned her Broadcast Communication degree in 1995. She will join an audience of students for the screening of her docus Gintong Putik and El Fraile: Ang Pagsuko ng Fort Drum.

Gintong Putik chronicles Kara’s search for a poor boy she met over a decade ago in the gold-rich, third-class mining town of Paracale, Camarines Norte. In El Fraile: Ang Pagsuko ng Fort Drum, Kara explores the once unsinkable Fort Drum, a war shrine built in 1909 that has slowly surrendered to neglect.

Meanwhile, Sandra revisits the University of Santo Tomas where she took up Journalism in 1993. Her docus Pasan-Pasan and Kalam will be screened. In Pasan-Pasan, Sandra shares stories of unconditional love and dedication of families for their physically-challenged children. In Kalam, Sandra gets to experience hunger as she lives for three days with one of the poorest families in Western Samar. These will be shown at the C.M.E. Auditorium at the Medicine Building.