MANGYAN KIDS WIN AWARDS AND FRIENDS AT THE ANAK TV VIDEO WORKSHOP

“Now that we are celebrating ‘Friendship in Diversity,’ let us gather the indigenous and non-indigenous children in one venue  to encourage friendships and foster mutual understanding of diverse cultures,” said Anak TV president  Elvira Yap Go who has, time and again, advised to include the indigenous peoples, whenever possible in its activities.

Traveling by land and water, the Mangyan kids endured sea-sickness and dizziness, but reached the venue exuberant to learn. They were attentive to the lessons imparted by Director Nico Hernandez and facilitator Danie Sedilla-Cruz, and accepted the challenge of producing a two-minute video, a first time experience in their lives.  

Children being inherently imaginative, they created a story for production as Director Nico and Teacher Danie walked them through the process of film production including camera work and editing. 

Everything was alien to the Mangyan kids, but they were all ears to their mentors, and learned how to capture interesting shots, and laid them down into a series of video clips for proper assembly. 

Surprisingly, they easily  achieved a proficiency that transformed them into wide-eyed budding filmmakers.  

It was likewise a rare transformative experience for the staff of the workshop, having been touched by the lives of their indigenous students that did not come often.  

On graduation day, the Mangyan kids were much applauded by their fellow workshop participants, teachers, parents, workshop organizers, and everybody else for their awesome performance at the workshop. 

Backstage, Yam Nava, the  Anak TV big brother assigned to two Mangyans, sobbed as he told the secretariat that he’d miss his “two young brothers,” whom he had tried to introduce to the way of living in the city.

Yam, too, learned wisdom from them, especially from Ivan.  Despite an assortment of urban food during breakfast, they would  only take rice and eggs with coffee. Ivan told him about the traditional Mangyan diet that included sweet potatoes, fruits, and rice, and that they were content with just rice, and coffee for breakfast. Yam cajoled Ivan to fill up their plates with whatever they fancied in the breakfast buffet.

“Ayaw kong masanay. Baka hanapin ko pagbalik sa amin,” Ivan explained. (English: I don’t want to get used to it. I don’t want to crave it back home!) 

While the Mangyan kids took home the Best Picture Award in the Senior category for their outstanding video entitled INABAY, the more important prize for them was Anak TV’s Heart Award.  They have indeed conquered the hearts of their friends at the workshop. 

The children could not wait to unwrap their gifts from Anak TV. They were completely thrilled by their cell phones, power banks, lunch boxes, and goodies from Columbia’s. 

They were profuse with their thank you’s as they posed with the Anak TV president in their native G-string and colorful Mangyan attire.

Ivan asked to speak. Many in the audience expected an impromptu poem for which Mangyans are known. Instead, he delivered a powerful one-liner: “Dito na sa Maynila, Mangyan pa rin,” was his message. ( English: “Here in Manila now. Still a proud Mangyan!”)

To which Ms Go responded, “Anak TV may have introduced these kids to the novel world of filmmaking, but remember that we are here not to change them, but to protect and help preserve their heritage. We will only extend our hands to them in friendship, and make them realize that they have a role to play in this fast-changing global environment,” she emphasized.

Three days after the event, Yam excitedly responded to Ivan’s first Facebook posting.  

The budding Mangyan filmmaker has learned to open up in friendship with the rest of the world.