This June, the Ateneo Art Gallery presents a series of programs organized in line with the exhibition "Gongs. Smoke. Blood. Earth." Featuring a total of eight (8) films by Baguio-based filmmakers and artists, the film screenings aim to explore the rich landscape of the Baguio art scene. Included in the lineup of programs for the month is a talkback session with Angel Velasco Shaw, Rica Concepcion, Myra Beltran, and Abbie SJ Lara on June 26 (Thursday), 2:00 pm.
These programs are FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC.
VENUE
Ben Chan ArtSuite, 2F Ateneo Art Gallery
Soledad V Pangilinan Arts Wing, Areté, Ateneo de Manila University
FILM SCREENING SCHEDULES
JUNE 9 (Monday), 2:00 pm - REGISTRATION CLOSED BUT WALK-INS WILL BE ACCEPTED
Why is Yellow the Middle of the Rainbow? (1994) (170 mins.)
Why is Yellow the Middle of the Rainbow? / Bakit dilaw ang gitna ng bahag-hari?, an unscripted work by Kidlat Tahimik, "co-written" with Kidlat Gottlieb de Guia, Kawayan de Guia, and Kabunyan de Guia, explores the decade-long period of American neocolonialism in the Philippines. The film encompasses the assassination of Benigno Aquino Jr. and the subsequent Yellow Revolution that brought Corazon Aquino to power, the decommissioning of the US air base Camp John Hay, and the younger Kidlat's trajectory through school, all shown through a Third World Projector salvaged from a junk pile on Navajo land.
JUNE 16 (Monday), 11:00 am - REGISTRATION CLOSED BUT WALK-INS WILL BE ACCEPTED
Shaman Wars (1982) (20 mins.)
Shaman Wars is an experimental short film created by Krip Yuson, Boy Yñiguez, and Reuben Domingo in the early 1980s. Set in a dreamlike version of Baguio, it follows three shamans, each embodying distinct cultural forces as they engage in a strange, symbolic battle over an enigmatic a-go-go dancer. The cast includes notable figures such as visual artists Kidlat Tahimik, Pepito Bosch, and Boy Yuchengco. It unravels a surreal tale of power, desire, and transformation. Bold, chaotic, and defiantly genre-bending, Shaman Wars critiques colonial legacies and masculine posturing with an irreverent, metaphysical flair.
To Baguio, With Love (1988-1998) (24 mins.)
Acting as a 24-minute time capsule of Baguio’s art scene throughout the years 1988 to 1998, the short film To Baguio, With Love (1988-1998) by Angel Velasco Shaw presents short snippets of artists’ daily lives through market runs and group gatherings.
Palengke Day (2022) (10 mins.)
Directed by Mervine Aquino, Palengke Day shares the experiences of people in the Baguio Public Market during the COVID-19 pandemic and the Community Quarantine. Through the voices and images of vendors and shoppers, the film looks at the market’s past and explores its future as the city government and SM Prime Holdings plan its redevelopment and modernization.
Hilagang Bituin (2025) (14 mins.)
Hilagang Bituin is a meditative short film by Abbie SJ Lara set in the Cordillera region. Told from the perspective of Baguio Arts Guild member and artist, Rene Aquitania, the film explores his quiet reflections on life and death through the lens of art, memory, and indigenous philosophy. As fog rolls across pine-lined hills and ancestral voices echo in the stillness, Aquitania's narration draws viewers into a deeply personal, almost spiritual, understanding of existence. Blending documentary intimacy with poetic imagery, the short film becomes a meditation on what it means to live meaningfully and to embrace the inevitability of return. The film invites the audience to look beyond the surface of mortality and into the enduring cycles of nature and culture. Hilagang Bituin sends us a quiet invitation—to listen more closely to the land, stars, and the stories we will someday become.
Tribal Videos (2001) (30 mins.)
For generations, the rugged slopes of Hapao stood as an unyielding fortress against colonial conquest—until the quiet invasion of modernity began to seep in. The Ifugao people, guardians of a time-honored rice culture and masters of intricate woodcraft, now find themselves at a crossroads. As waves of tourists spill in from the gateway city, ancient traditions begin to fade like carvings left to weather. The elders who once held the stories are vanishing, while the youth drift toward apathy. In the face of this cultural unraveling, the tribe mounts an unexpected resistance—not with spears or shields, but with cameras. Kidlat de Guia’s Tribal Videos is both an archive and an alarm: a tapestry of grassroots filmmaking that captures not just what remains, but what must endure.
JUNE 26 (Thursday), 11:00 am
Karmic, Kosmik, Kamera... Aksyon! (2025) (20 mins.)
Karmic, Kosmik, Kamera…Aksyon! is a documentary film by Abbie SJ Lara which features interviews of artists affiliated with the Baguio Arts Guild and AXiS. Filmed in the artists’ own studios and during group gatherings, it presents a behind-the-scenes look at the projects they have undertaken to cultivate connections across various communities and to preserve the local cultural heritage of the region.
JUNE 26 (Thursday), 2:00 pm
Film Screening of Shaman Showman: The Life and Work of Roberto Villanueva by Egay Navarro and Rica Concepcion
Talkback with Angel Velasco Shaw, Rica Concepcion, Myra Beltran, and Abbie SJ Lara
Shaman Showman: The Life and Work of Roberto Villanueva (2003) (130 mins.) is a documentary film by filmmaker-couple Egay Navarro and Rica Concepcion. It focuses on the life of Baguio artist Roberto Villanueva, known for his distinct approach to artmaking that included community participation.
