FROM THE MARGINS

Christmas is just around the corner, and as always, I love the parols that currently adorn the windows in my neighborhood. The blessed holiday has many symbols, but the parol really is the quintessential Filipino Christmas statement.  It is humble and bright, reminiscent of the star that drew the shepherds to the baby in the manger in the first Nativity. 

The parol is light and hope amidst darkness – a theme brought to my mind last December 10, as I watched eight short films produced by microfinance clients during the SineMaya Film Festival held in SM City San Pablo. These films about ordinary people’s triumphs and struggles were produced using smart phones and inexpensive cameras. Microfinance clients wrote the scripts based on their life stories. They are even featured as actors and characters. Each film is a testament to Filipino talent and resilience.  Watching them is an in-your-face encounter with how millions of our poorest kababayans live.

SineMaya

The SineMaya Community Short Film Festival harnesses the power of independent films to raise awareness on the transformative impact of microfinance on the lives of the poor.  SineMaya is a contraction of the words “sine” (film or cinema house) and “maya” (passerine bird), which used to be our national bird.  These tiny creatures symbolize the Filipino people’s spirit of humility, simplicity, generosity, and resilience – reflecting the festival’s objective of promoting creativity and community empowerment. CARD MRI started the SineMaya in 2022 to encourage client creativity and strengthen their centers. This year, this grassroots-based film festival that fosters community empowerment was opened to the clients of other microfinance institutions (MFIs).     

The industry-wide film festival started in April, with an invitation for microfinance clients nationwide to submit proposals for 15-30-minute short documentary films. Each of the participating MFIs (Negros Women for Tomorrow Foundation, People’s Alternative Livelihood Microfinance Foundation of Sorsogon, ASA Philippines, SEDP-Simbag sa Pag-Asenso, and CARD) then selected the top three film proposals from their respective client-centers.  All the winners of this first screening were given gifts in cash and in-kind, as well as training in documentary script writing.  At the second screening, the best film proposal was selected per MFI, with all winners given rewards in cash/kind, a production budget, and training in video production and editing. Their documentaries were the ones eventually featured in film showings at SM City Manila, Iloilo, Cagayan de Oro and San Pablo from November-December.

Celebrating the ordinary

The documentaries effectively depicted the lives of microfinance clients. We cried upon seeing their daily struggles, and rejoiced in their moments of triumphs. We identified with the heroic efforts portrayed by microfinance field workers in scenes documenting their many sacrifices to meet clients’ needs. One film, Isang Libong Hakbang, featured the story of a mother whose young children must walk miles just so they can attend classes in the lowland. How microfinance has helped support the children’s dreams of a better life really touched my heart! 

Among my favorites is Letra, a film produced by clients from Marawi. It tells the story of Muslim women who, through microfinance, were not only able to get financing but learned to read and write. Hearing them thank their account officers for patiently teaching them how to read and write so that they can join the centers is heartwarming. So is the pride in their voices as they shared that they can now sign their names instead of just using thumbprints.  It was gratifying to see Muslim clients improving their lives though Sharia-inspired financing practices.  

I also liked Balo, a film made by the clients of ASA Philippines.  It is about a widow who lost her husband at a young age, leaving her with five young children to raise alone. She had to do odd jobs, like washing other peoples’ clothes, just to make ends meet. Microfinance allowed her to start a business and send her children to school. It is so heartwarming to watch the children grow into responsible and loving adults, completing their college degrees, and landing good jobs.  

Beacon of hope

The films showed microfinance as a beacon of hope in many poor communities.  When I was requested to speak before a jampacked theater, I shared my wish for the microfinance industry to produce a full-length movie that will depict the lives of our clients. Films go beyond art and story-telling. They contribute to inclusion and connection, empower people, and bring about change. 

Through projects like SineMaya, we can show the role of microfinance in eradicating poverty.  We can also showcase Filipino culture and heritage. We can tell the world the best of what makes us Filipinos: good values and traditions like kissing the hands of our elders, bayanihan in case of calamities, camaraderie fostered by fiestas, and others. I hope there will be more similar initiatives.
 

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 “Hope is being able to see that there is light despite all of the darkness.” - Desmond Tutu

(Dr. Jaime Aristotle B. Alip is a poverty eradication advocate. He is the founder of the Center for Agriculture and Rural Development Mutually-Reinforcing Institutions (CARD MRI).)