Sabong Di Cada
With the cheap and widely available pirated cds and dvds, I was always curious why there are video rental business that keep opening up. Anyway, my father who is more familiar with how things used to be, went a video rental store to borrow something that we could watch, the last time I went home to Baguio.
He borrowed two VCDs, one was a cheesy Jennifer Lopez film (which was pirated; so I guess, the owner would have recouped his inventory cost by the second lending and anything beyond that would be pure profit) and the other a locally produced film called "Sabong Di Cada". And by locally, I don't even mean the horde of Baguio artists but rather the villagers from a remote place called Cada, up in the less populated parts of Benguet that borders Mountain Province.
Now, I never thought there would be such a thing as a locally made film. This one appears to have been written, directed, produced, acted and generally concieved by a Charismatic group based in Cada. The language was in the vernacular (Kankanaey) and the actors were all locals. There was the obligatory filming of the traditional ceremonies, gong-playing, dancing, pig-slaughtering, you know the picture. But it was much more than that. It talks of the general situation of the Filipino family. It effectively expresses the angst and aspirations of the young Filipino.
Though you could tell right away that it was very low-budget and amateurish, I thought that it was the type of production that would be appreciated by the art-film crowd. With English subtitles, it may even put up a strong showing in the international film festivals. The storytelling was great and the context of the Cada way of life is simply unique. I grew up in a town very similar to Cada (Sagada) and there were lots of attempts to film the traditional Sagada way of life but there was never a complete film that was produced. Make no mistake, I have watched quite a number of documentaries and features and theater productions about Sagada which were very good, but never structured in a film format like "The Flower of Cada" (Sabong Di Cada).
Kudos to the makers of this film. It is a very good work. Clap-Clap-Clap!
Now, these video rental stores must be on to something great. I might go visit one sometime, who knows when I might chance upon a great find like the "Sabong Di Cada".
He borrowed two VCDs, one was a cheesy Jennifer Lopez film (which was pirated; so I guess, the owner would have recouped his inventory cost by the second lending and anything beyond that would be pure profit) and the other a locally produced film called "Sabong Di Cada". And by locally, I don't even mean the horde of Baguio artists but rather the villagers from a remote place called Cada, up in the less populated parts of Benguet that borders Mountain Province.
Now, I never thought there would be such a thing as a locally made film. This one appears to have been written, directed, produced, acted and generally concieved by a Charismatic group based in Cada. The language was in the vernacular (Kankanaey) and the actors were all locals. There was the obligatory filming of the traditional ceremonies, gong-playing, dancing, pig-slaughtering, you know the picture. But it was much more than that. It talks of the general situation of the Filipino family. It effectively expresses the angst and aspirations of the young Filipino.
Though you could tell right away that it was very low-budget and amateurish, I thought that it was the type of production that would be appreciated by the art-film crowd. With English subtitles, it may even put up a strong showing in the international film festivals. The storytelling was great and the context of the Cada way of life is simply unique. I grew up in a town very similar to Cada (Sagada) and there were lots of attempts to film the traditional Sagada way of life but there was never a complete film that was produced. Make no mistake, I have watched quite a number of documentaries and features and theater productions about Sagada which were very good, but never structured in a film format like "The Flower of Cada" (Sabong Di Cada).
Kudos to the makers of this film. It is a very good work. Clap-Clap-Clap!
Now, these video rental stores must be on to something great. I might go visit one sometime, who knows when I might chance upon a great find like the "Sabong Di Cada".
posted by Jack's Rice at 9:09 PM
5 Comments:
There is another one, Ugan di Ina (A Mother's Cry) shot somewhere in Benguet, most likely by the same charismatic group. As far as I'm concerned it was better than Abong (Small Home).
I was able to watch the movie on the bus to Bontoc and I think it is a rather popular video in Benguet: I was telling someone how Southern Kankanaey (Northern Benguet) was different from Northern Kankanaey (Western Mountain Province) and I used the video as a springboard for discussion. He knew about the video, too.
so apparently, may burgeoning film industry pala in the Southern Kankanaey area. very interesting!
so there are then three different films, Sabong di Cada, Ugan di Ina and Abong? where can i buy/borrow a copy of these?
and do you know anyone connected with the production group? wouldn't it be fun to get to know them?
Abong has Joel Torre in its cast. The scrpt was written by a faculty member of SLU. A Baguio-based Fil-Jap organization co-produced it with the Japanese Embassy I think. Kidlat Tahimik and a son of his was involved, too. I think the movie was ugly. Tatlong beses pa yatang nawala ang ilaw nung pinanood ko. Abong can be bought on the net yata. As for the other one, ask Rising Sun or check the video rental shop you were talking about. No baken, maki-kadwa ka's nan tumba-tumba. Waay wada maibadang Tere isna. ;)
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