Observing Life from the Sides

MANILA, Philippines - Acclaimed for stirring documentaries such as Minsan Lang Sila Bata and Riles, Ditsi Carolino has come out with her latest work, Lupang Hinarang, which focuses on the plight and fight of the Negros and Sumilao farmers.

Ditsi originally started working for an NGO and says she had – and still has – no interest in making feature films. She started using documentaries as a tool in her advocacies. “It helps a lot when you work with visuals,” she says.

Though she does not intend to make feature films, Ditsi says, “I like the idea of the cinematic documentary. Here, the subject is central… You learn the story by seeing the events/scenes unfold.”

Ditsi adds that her style in making documentaries reflects her personality: “I like being on the sides, observing.” 

She insists that her documentaries are not meant to sound preachy or like propaganda; rather, her documentaries are an immersion into the lives of her subjects. “Kung ano ang naranasan ko, ‘yon ang mararamdaman ng audience. (What I experience is what the audience will feel).”

This effect is what Ditsi achieves with Lupang Hinarang as the audience is taken on a journey with the farmers – on foot – from Sumilao, Bukidnon in Mindanao to Malacañang in Manila and the frustration when they are only allowed into one receiving area, not granted the audience that they had walked all the way there for.

The audience likewise feels the pain and determination of the farmers of Negros as they go through their hunger strike so that their children may have food to eat in the future. Unlike some of her documentaries which were commissioned by NGOs and other groups, Ditsi embarked on the Lupang Hinarang project without any funding. “If you see a story that is really interesting, you have to go after the story and just figure out how to fund it afterwards,” she says.

This is quite literally what she did when she started filming Lupang Hinarang. Ditsi recalls that she did not have any intention to make a documentary at the time, but went along, bringing her camera equipment “just in case.” She ended up with 25 hours of footage of the Sumilao farmers’ march, 30 hours of the Negros farmer’s hunger strike, and a very compelling story to tell.

“To get attention, their only choice is to do something drastic,” Ditsi reflects on the actions of the farmers. The Sumilao farmers, inspired by Gandhi’s protest march, take on a 1,700-kilometer journey from Bukidnon to Manila on foot, to bring much needed attention to their plight.

The farmers from Negros, on the other hand, go on a 29-day hunger strike when armed guards kill one of the farmers. Though these happen in different places and at different times (2008 and 2007 respectively), both groups fight towards the same goal, and their stories are brought together by Ditsi’s work.

“Lupang Hinarang is still a work in progress,” Ditsi says, but it has already been shown in various venues. It is times like this, adds Ditsi, that she has to reconcile being both an artist and an advocate. While she thought that changes could still be made to the documentary as a film, she decided to hold screenings of the work in progress in time for the decision on the CARPER bill. So far, Lupang Hinarang has been screened twice in Congress, as well as in some schools and universities in the country.

“Anything to widen the support and help raise consciousness,” she says of her decision. The documentary has succeeded in bringing the issue to the attention not just of NGOs but also of the religious sector, professors and students. “The students are the ones that have creative ideas,” Ditsi says of the importance of getting the younger generation involved in the advocacy.

Aside from the developments that have happened since the documentary was released, she is still raising money to shoot the back story of the farmers. “I want to show them in their natural environment,” she says, noting that showing the farmers with their families, tending to their land, will highlight what they are fighting for.

While her documentaries expose poverty, corruption, and many other serious issues in the country, Ditsi says “I really like to think that my films reflect heroism of ordinary people,” noting how each of the farmers in Lupang Hinarang showed leadership, strength, and a knowledge of the Constitution that would rival that of a lawyer.

Ditsi adds that her documentaries show signs of hope – “You see ordinary people who show courage, eloquence and self-sacrifice.” She also hopes that her work will challenge others who are more privileged. “Kung kaya nilang kumilos, ano pa kaya tayo na may mas maraming resources. (If they can do this, what more those of us who have more resources).”