As the long-running documentary show i-Witness marks its 25th anniversary, seasoned docu-filmmakers hone students to become the next generation of compelling storytellers in Docu Academy IX's face-to-face comeback at the Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP) Bulwagang Bonifacio on March 1.
(Photo by Jann Conrad Bonifacio/ The Communicator)
Themed “DokYOU: Honing Your Documentary Potential, Transforming Society, One Storyline at a Time,” MULAT Documentary Guild brought broadcast journalist Howie Severino and award-winning “Sunday Beauty Queen” director Baby Ruth Villarama.
Aspiring storytellers and enthusiasts heard the imparted successes and struggles, behind-the-screen stories, and tips on effective documentary-making from the “OGs” themselves.
‘Sometimes, the story comes to you’
Neither the COVID-19 pandemic nor the Martial Law can stop the documentarist in Severino. His 40-year journalism career started with the newspaper until he ventured into making documentaries later on.
Quarantine restrictions limited TV productions from creating content, which became a matter of concern to Severino's crew. They had to continue telling stories amid the pandemic.
“Luckily, I became a COVID patient,” Severino remarked humorously.
Around March 2020, Severino tested positive for COVID-19, making him one of the first three thousand patients and earning the code, “Patient 2828.”
His “documentarist instincts” immediately kicked in upon his hospitalization. Equipped with a smartphone, he started taking stills and documenting his experiences in the hospital. He even taught Gab, the nurse assigned to him and a self-professed avid fan of Severino’s work, how to shoot using a phone.
That is how the documentary “Ako si Patient 2828” came to life and became the most-watched i-Witness episode at its time of release.
“Bawal ang journalist[s] sa hospital, it was a forbidden zone. Ako lang ang journalist na nakapasok sa ospital noon. [...] When I knew I was going to survive, I was thinking… story. Hindi ko hinanap ito, nangyari [ito] sa akin.”
He felt he had the authority to dispel the “dread and hysteria” as a patient who lived through it.
“So, part of the training here is that sometimes, the story comes to you. And when it does, you just have to be prepared,” he narrated.
Severino also emphasized that the most basic skill in documentary-making is capturing stills. As an analog native, he documented pivotal moments using his Mamiya camera with a capacity of around 30 shots per film.
Unlike the present cameras that can shoot thousands of photos, he added that discipline was important given the tool’s limitations back in the day.
During the Martial Law, the camera led to his capture in jail when he took a photo of the police truncheons protesters and was then accused of leading the protests. His arrest coincided with film director and staunch Marcos critic Lino Brocka.
Severino also showed the students his one-man documentary on Filipino war veterans in the United States titled, “Little Brown Man in San Francisco.”
“Your challenge as a documentarist is to make the important interesting and relevant,” he concluded.
‘Lente ang shield ko’
Known for her emotionally moving documentaries, director Villarama sees herself as a student of life. Her core is the Japanese concept of “ikigai,” or having a sense of purpose in life and pursuing passions.
Villarama started as a nightlife photographer and magazine writer, which earned her 500 pesos per write-up. She then became a researcher, with her most memorable assignment being her pursuit of an “aswang” in Rizal for a Halloween special.
In 2013, she directed the documentary, “Jazz in Love,” tackling the fight for LGBTQIA+ rights and the absence of same-sex unions in the Philippines. It follows the journey of Jazz, a young man from Davao, engaged to his 11-year German boyfriend, to Germany to get married amid the language differences.
“[There is] no need to sensationalize, but to normalize queer stories,” Villarama said.
Her 2016 award-winning piece “Sunday Beauty Queen” shows the life of a group of Filipina domestic workers who took part in an annual pageant. It was the first documentary to bag the Best Picture Award in the Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF).
She pitched the story upon seeing overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) idling together on a Sunday afternoon in a Hong Kong street. This reignited a part of her longing for her estranged mother.
“Siguro narrative question ‘yon sa pagkatao ko na naging inspirasyon ko rin siguro para magtanong-tanong. [...] Ang isa sa pinakamagandang leksyon na napulot ko sa documentary filmmaking ay we are just one decision away from choosing our destiny,” she said.
In documentary filmmaking, Villarama believes that it should be character-led, with the invisible filmmaker behind the camera amplifying the subjects’ story.
“If you want to know your character, live their life with them [and] capture their essence. [...] Tayo ang mensahero nila,” she emphasized.
She also screened her “pandemic film” titled, “Dance for Life,” featuring a female person deprived of liberty (PDL) facing Rodrigo Duterte’s eyed reinstatement of the death penalty amid the pandemic.
Villarama stated that the lens serves as her shield in response to how she deals with shooting traumatic scenes.
“In this age and time na maraming versions ng kwento, I think we need more documentary filmmakers. We need you to tell the truth. We need more of us,” encouraging words from Villarama.
Started in 2014, Docu Academy is the flagship event of MULAT Documentary Guild aiming to hone students' documentary filmmaking skills through seminar workshops with esteemed media practitioners.
Article: Mary Rose Maligmat
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