Ten Indicators

…of a sleep-deprived vampire student:

1. You open the fridge, try to dig into your brain why you did so. Closed it. Returned to your desk, and then remembered that what you wanted to do is to return throw pillows to where those are stocked (definitely not inside the fridge);
2. You were at the 23rd floor of a building in Ortigas when the earthquake last Sunday night happened, and you were completely ignorant of it;
3. You miss your bed with the ‘cats are my bestfriends‘ and ‘have a fish, have a friend‘ bed sheet cover, with many, many, many, many, many faces of cats;
4. You live totally without music. You don’t charge your mp3 for one week since you don’t use it often, anyway (you don’t even update the playlist);
5. You completely alienated yourself with the outside world (that is, cut off all communication lines by not replying to emails and text messages that are not acad- or work-related);
6. You speak a different language from those people around you;
7. You almost forgot your brother’s birthday;
8. News such as oil price and fare increase, typhoons, earthquakes, pacquaio fight, and the like reach you when everybody else has heard of it;
9. Given the chance, your body simply refuses to sleep, having enveloped tiredness into its system and fearing of changing its clock; and
10. You have updated the term ’sleep’ in your vocabulary and now referred to it as a luxurious activity one involves in doing.

(Written July 11, Multiply) 

Buses and Trains.

(Written July 15, Multiply)

Ordinary buses are in.

…with the sky-rocketing fare increase. If you don’t have an idea how high, let me give you a clue.

The then fifty five-peso (Php55) student fare in an air-conditioned bus from Pacita (Laguna) to Philcoa (QC) is now sixty three pesos (Php63) in an ORDINARY bus, student fare.

Do the math.

Trains.

The venerable *ehem* MRT station, despite its unfriendliness and violation to my state of personal space, is also valuable. Not only will it take you to places along EDSA without the hassle of heavy traffic. It also doesn’t use oil to run.

You just simply have to endure sharing spaces with gazillion others - that is, included are the smell, noise, sight and touch of.

Boses.

(Written July 16, Multiply) 

Imagine Kasuy going around the first and second floor of the Cultural Center of the Philippines accompanying ten children, all boys, of varying ages. Not to mention going around strutting them with so many film enthusiasts, film makers, producers and actors such as Ricky Davao, Boots Anson-Roa, Eddie Garcia, Meryl Soriano and the like.

I first learned of the whole grandiose schedule of Cinemalaya last week from Eejay’s Multiply. Though I know it was highly impossible - given my wonderful acad/field/workload - for me to see ANY of the films, BOSES happened to be one I would have wanted to watch, alongside 100, Brutus, Concerto, HulingPasada, My Fake American Accent, and Ranchero (meaning, almost all the entries).

When I came this afternoon to the center/temporary shelter for street children where I’m doing my fieldwork, I found out that ten out of thirty children were invited to watch BOSES at CCP. Long story short, they asked me to accompany the kids. There were pros and cons, of course. The big PRO is that I’ll get to watch BOSES for free, enjoy it and at the same time earn fieldwork hours. The cons, however, are (a) I just barely recovered from severe cough and fever, and I can’t afford to worsen my health condition, and (b) that would mean going home later than the curfew which is 9pm, and I don’t want special treatment from our landlady.

THE REVIEW.

This is what’s written on Boses’ synopsis:

” BOSES (VOICES) by Ellen Ongkeko-Marfil is the story of a musician, who regains back his humanity by giving violin lessons to a child of the slums.  In turn, the child, through the instrument, is able to get back his voice from a muted, abused and desensitized existence. This is a story of a friendship founded on the sublime beauty of music. “

Onyok, the abused child rescued from his own biological father, is only one of the many cases of child physical abuse - and this I think is the reason why they invited children from different centers. Though it is an “indie” film, UNICEF supported its making together with other child-oriented organizations like Children’s Welfare Commission (CWC). I don’t know which came first, the ask of support of the filmmaker to UNICEF, or UNICEF’s Children Against Violence project. Nonetheless, UNICEF and CWC both want the film to reach as many kids and parents as possible, most especially those exposed or are vulnerable to physical violence.

MUSIC.

Need I say more? It has violins! And pianos! What more can I ask for? Mostly pianos for the musical score, those scenes needing background music. Violin with Ariel and Onyok’s lessons, practice and performance.

CINEMALAYA GOES TO U.P. had BOSES scheduled on August 4, 5pm.

Advocacy Letter: CHILDREN AGAINST VIOLENCE

BOSES is the story of a musician, who regains back his humanity by giving violin lessons to a child of the slums. In turn, the child, through the instrument, is able to get back his voice from a muted, abused and desensitized existence. This is a story of friendship founded on the sublime beauty of music.
CINEMALAYA GOES TO U.P. scheduled BOSES on August 4 (Monday), 5pm.

Got the letter from the gala screening of BOSES at CCP last Wednesday (my review here). Posted/reproduced online with permission.

—————————

“Mankind owes to the child the best it has to give.”

- UN Convention on the Rights of the Child

Dear Friends,

Thank you very much for gracing our affair tonight. Your presence in the screening of BOSES goes a long way in our campaign to end violence against children.

BOSES is a tale of pain and suffering. But it is also a tale of hope and healing. Because the film is not just an advocacy against violence on children but also a paean to the sublime beauty of music and its power to heal and transform lives.

Onyok’s story can be any child’s story. Violence against children is real and rampant. And the children remain silent victims out of ignorance and fear. But it doesn’t have to be that way. Children can be equipped with the capacity to protect themselves and their rights. Thus, the campaign is called “Children Against Violence”.

Children, being children, cannot face this challenge on their own. They need all the support they can get. Many are willing to help but are in search of the right vehicle to do so.

BOSES can be this vehicle. Film can be a powerful advocacy tool, provided it is able to reach the greatest audience possible. And that is the objective of the educational film circuit which we hope to set-up by October 2008 in cooperation with UNICEF, CWC secretariat and DSWD who will be helping us through networking and curriculum development for post-screening discussions. It aims to bring movies on children and children’s rights to the people, wherever they are.

The educational film circuit can be an opportunity for those who wish to contribute to the campaign for the protection of children’s rights. This participation can come in several forms, to wit:

• One can volunteer and be trained as a Child Rights Film (CRF) Advocate who will bring the films to schools and communities;
• One can bring the films to his/her own school or community;
• One can recommend areas for the showing of the film where he/she has contacts who can facilitate the showing of the film;
• One can be a sponsor;
• One can recommend other possible ways of using the film as a tool; or
• One can let us know how he/she would like to participate.

We know that there are individuals or organizations who would want to take part in the campaign to end the violence against children. This is the chance to do that.

Please let us know if you would like to be part of this important endeavor. Call/text Laarni Aranas at 09198274100 or email boses08@gmail.com.

Sincerely yours,

Ellen Ongkeko-Marfil

Producer-Director, BOSES