One With The Tribe: Part 1

Written by Chrishandra Sebastiampillai

Photographs by Jonathan Lim, Sarah Chong and Melissa Chia

One with the Tribe: Part 2 >>

     When I first found out that our trip to the Philippines was to see a street festival, the immediate thought I had was food, dancing and music. When I found out that the street festival was in honour of Señor Santo Niño, I found myself struggling to insert the child Jesus into the mix. As a born Catholic raised in a conservative family, attending a conservative church, I had to wonder how Jesus would go with body paint, tribal drums, war cries and San Miguel’s. This three-part story chronicles my journey from polite disbelief to absolute acceptance- in the Philippines, Jesus does come with the works.

The Freedom Grandstand Children

Written by Sheril A. Bustaman

Photographs by Melissa Chia

*Names in this article have been changed to protect identities of minors. 

     The atmosphere was loud. The humid night sky loomed above everyone present in the Freedom Grandstand. As people attempted to secure the best seats, in ran eight little boys. Skinny yet full of life, these boys ran around the grand stand, weaving their way through throngs of people and causing a kind of ruckus only young boys could cause. Out of the blue, one of these young boys decided to sit in the small space I had left vacant for a friend of mine. Petite in a NYC cap too big for his head and shades (despite it being eight o clock at night) the boy sat silently. The other boys then came up to him, tugging at his arm screaming what I assumed were invitations for him to join them, but he just shook his head, indicating he did not want to move. With the help of Aisa (one of the student guides), I decided to attempt to have a conversation with him, hence unearthing the story of the Freedom Grandstand Children.

Daily Diary: Day 2 - City Heritage Tour

Written by Chrishandra Sebastiampillai   

Pictures by Melissa Chia

     We were met by Mr. Eugene Jamerlan, who was to be our guide for the day.  He gave us a brief description of the history and geography of Iloilo, which he described as four separate towns joined together. We began where we stood, on the UPV campus grounds, which used to be the Iloilo City Hall, and was donated by the Mayor of Iloilo in the 1930s to ultimately become the city campus of UPV. The Mayor himself went on to become the Vice President of the Philippines. 

We really enjoyed ourselves

Video Diary: Day 2

Introducing Mr. Oliver Exmundo

Written by Lestari Hairul

Photograph by Vince Cheong
 
   

Chatting with Mr. Exmundo

    After the film festival was screened, we sat with the owner of the Cinematheque for a very short interview. Mr Oliver Exmundo of Cinema Exmundo (a.k.a  UPV Cinematheque) grew up in Canada and had his formal training in traditional 2D animation at Sheraton College. Having worked on the visual effects of several big name films like The Lord of the Rings: the Two Towers; Return of the King; King Kong, Avatar, John Carter and the recently completed Man of Steel, Mr Exmundo is currently back in his native Philippines for a short sabbatical. His parents’ alma mater is UPV and the Cinematheque was built as part of one of the school’s centennial year projects. The building is currently still in the process of refurbishing and according to Mr Exmundo, more film props will be placed around the gallery and lobby area (including, but not limited to a life-sized replica of a frozen Han Solo and Hannibal Lecter’s iconic prison mask from the Silence of the Lambs) to make it a film museum. As it stands now, several film posters from Hollywood’s Classic Era decorate the lobby area and they are a good representation of the type of screenings that Cinema Exmundo will be holding in the future. The UPV will also be using the facilities as part of the curriculum, with programs based around local films; independent films; student-made films and film festivals.

   When asked to comment about the Monash-UPV film festival, Mr Exmundo praised the screenings and the level of discussion that followed. He was particularly happy that the Cinematheque was filled to full capacity further commenting that the students seemed “pretty inspired by the work, you could tell”. He expressed the hope that we would visit again for future screenings and in fact, if our schedule goes well this week, we will be dropping by again for a special screening of The Wizard of Oz. Watch this space! 

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Lestari just completed her first year and is determined to make her second year even more exciting and interesting. Lestari also likes reading, writing and 'rithmetic.

Monash-UPV Film Festival

Written by Paolo Javier
Photographs by Sarah Chong

     With over 90 visitors in attendance, the Monash-UPV Film Festival paved the way as the introduction  of Filipino youth to the diverse world of filmmaking. The event opened the eyes of the youth to the intricate Malaysian independent short film community. The Monash-UPV Film Festival kicked off at the UPV Cinematheque at 5pm on the 20th of January 2013. Breaking the local's usual Sunday evening routine, the film festival had the Cinematheque filled up to its full capacity of 70 people, making it the most illustrious event in the history of the UPV Cinematheque.

We made the news!

On January 20, 2013- In Search of Iloilo made it into the front third and fourth pages of Panay News Philippines, the local newspaper. We made history, guys! 

Moslem Discount

Written by Dyah Ayu Nurina Malinda

Photographs by Dyah Ayu Nurina Malinda 

    Every time you look around d’mall at Boracay, you always find t-shirt sellers, and all kinds of souvenirs sellers that you can imagine. Don’t picture d’mall as a fancy mall in Kuala Lumpur or other major cities. D’mall is actually an area full of street vendors, food sellers and stalls.

    One thing that is quite amazing here is the courtesy of the Moslem discount. As a Moslem woman who wears the hijab, Moslem sellers immediately give me a good price- a discount price. The other good thing is I am able to make that good price even lower, with my witty smile and determined way of bargaining.

Daily Diary: Day One

Written by Helen Jambunathan 

Pictures by Emily Choong & Sarah Chong 

            Having left Monash University at 10 pm on Friday night, we travelers found ourselves arriving in Iloilo City after nearly 12 hours of being on the move. In between, some of us had managed to catch some shut-eye sleeping on three plane seats with the armrests up, but for the most part we were all bleary-eyed, having missed a night’s worth of sleep.

 The sun glinting off the plane wing.

Session 1: Philanthropy in Iloilo

Written & Photographed by Jonathan Lim

The quest of discovering Iloilo City begins with the conclusion of its first session, entitled Philanthropy in Iloilo. 

Professor Bruce Hall

      In addressing this topic, Professor Bruce Hall, lecturer of American History at the University of the Philippines Visayas, dove into the history of the Philippines and how pre-Hispanic structures were instrumental in shaping its society of today. Convenience stores that are attached to village homes, more commonly known as sari-sari in Tagalog, are a long-standing example of a structure that was a part of the community back then and one that still plays a big role now. Apart from being an important economic location that provides basic needs for the people, sari-sari stores also serve as a place of informal exchanges – benches set outside these stores allow the people to socialize and forge friendships. Sari-sari stores remain an important backbone of the grassroots economy and the Philippines culture. Professor Hall then explained the bayanihan tradition, which described any communal act of helping families within the community, such as move their homes by literally carrying houses, building barns communally and how that helped to foster solidarity within communities.