Martha Atienza

The Philippines is a cultural melting pot, having had a combination of influences throughout its history. The Ati-atihan festival's name means 'to be like Atis'. The Aeta people are thought to be among the earliest inhabitants of the Philippines. Its festivities incorporate animism, folk Catholicism and ancestral beliefs, coming together and transforming into contemporary madness.

The Philippines is a cultural melting pot, having had a combination of influences throughout its history. The Ati-atihan festival's name means 'to be like Atis'. The Aeta people are thought to be among the earliest inhabitants of the Philippines. Its festivities incorporate animism, folk Catholicism and ancestral beliefs, coming together and transforming into contemporary madness.

The Philippines is a cultural melting pot, having had a combination of influences throughout its history. The Ati-atihan festival's name means 'to be like Atis'. The Aeta people are thought to be among the earliest inhabitants of the Philippines. Its festivities incorporate animism, folk Catholicism and ancestral beliefs, coming together and transforming into contemporary madness.

The Philippines is a cultural melting pot, having had a combination of influences throughout its history. The Ati-atihan festival's name means 'to be like Atis'. The Aeta people are thought to be among the earliest inhabitants of the Philippines. Its festivities incorporate animism, folk Catholicism and ancestral beliefs, coming together and transforming into contemporary madness.

The Philippines is a cultural melting pot, having had a combination of influences throughout its history. The Ati-atihan festival's name means 'to be like Atis'. The Aeta people are thought to be among the earliest inhabitants of the Philippines. Its festivities incorporate animism, folk Catholicism and ancestral beliefs, coming together and transforming into contemporary madness.

Gilubong ang Akon Pusod sa Dagat explores the relevance of the sea and its relationship and impact on those who use it as a source of livelihood. Through a three-channel video projection, the work proffers varying scenes and perspectives in simultaneity, briskly balancing alternating rhythms in settings and emotions throughout its duration. In addition to reflecting the Philippines’ historical and geographical relationship with the ocean, it brings the sea into its contemporary reality, as a metaphor of necessity and opportunity, and of community and isolation.

Sarah is a debt collector who lives among the inhabitants of the village of Guimbal on the island of Panay. She wants to find the young man who appeared to her in a dream and goes to the island of Negros. Here, as she interacts with the inhabitants, Sarah continues her search, gathering memories of life and war, dreams, myths, legends, songs and stories that she takes part in and at times revolve around her. She is the daughter of an ancient mermaid, a revolutionary, a primordial element, a virgin who was kidnapped and hidden away from the sunlight. “The film is a retelling of fragments of the American occupation. Dialogue, shot in the Hiligaynon language, is not translated but used as a tonal guide and a tool for narration. Using unscripted scenes shot where the main character was asked to merely interact with the villagers, I discard dialogue and draw meaning from peoples’ faces, voices, and actions, weaving an entirely different story through the use of subtitles and inter-titles.”