FROM THE MARGINS
Last week, I watched 16 short films created by microfinance and social development organizations across Southeast Asia. These films – submitted as entries to the 2024 SineMaya Community Film Festival – are based on the real-life experiences of ordinary people, documenting their inspiring journeys of resilience, hope, and empowerment.
I had previously written about the SineMaya Film Festival, which was initiated by microfinance industry players in 2020 as a way to help their clients remain productive and creative during the pandemic-imposed community quarantines. SineMaya celebrates the creativity of individuals and groups whose lives and communities were transformed through their engagement with microfinance institutions (MFIs) or social development organizations. The eight short films that competed in the SineMaya Film Festival in 2023 were the subject of my column in August 25. All the featured films were written and produced by clients who received training in scriptwriting, video editing, and filmmaking from their MFI.
BENTE Productions, Inc., a newly-established multimedia production company, launched this year’s SineMaya in collaboration with its microfinance affiliates through simultaneous cinema screenings last November. The film festival showcased entries at SM Cinemas in Manila, Cebu City, and General Santos City – bringing communities together while providing them an opportunity to participate by voting for the People’s Choice Award.
2024 Entrants
Thirteen local organizations joined this year’s SineMaya Film Festival. There were 16 entries including: ‘Sweet Dawn’ by Dungganon Bank-Bacolod City; ‘Hope in the Tides’ by the Negros Women for Tomorrow Foundation-Project Dungganon in Negros Occidental; ‘Tinapay’ by People’s Alternative Livelihood Microfinance Foundation of Sorsogon; ‘Sa Piling ni Inay’ by ASA Phils.-Camarines Sur; ‘Victoria’ by Malvar Senior High School-Sto. Tomas, Batangas; ‘Kabute’ by Simbag sa Pag-Asenso-Albay; and ‘Teoryang Ako’ by Kabuhayan sa Ganap na Kasarinlan Credit and Savings Cooperative-Quezon City.
There were six entries from different branches of CARD-affiliated institutions: ‘A Light in the Shadows’ (Zamboanga); ‘Antipara at Libreta’ (Sto. Tomas, Batangas); ‘Balud: Waves of Resilience’ (Mandaue City); ‘May Ngiti ang Pangarap’ (Taytay, Rizal); ‘Litrato’ (Tagum City); and ‘Puno ng Buhay’ (Gen. Luna, Quezon).
Three entries were submitted by foreign participants, including: ‘Escaping Poverty’ by Tinh Thuong One-member Limited Liability Microfinance Institution (TYM) from Hanoi, Vietnam; ‘Mingalarbar!’ by CARD Myanmar Co. Ltd.; and ‘Ekphathana’ by Microfinance Institution-Laos.
According to Marilyn M. Manila, president of Bente Productions, the film festival “not only highlights clients’ inspiring life stories but also encourages creativity and artistry among the communities we serve through filmmaking.”
Stories of hope
It is heartening to see how ordinary people are documenting the minutiae of their everyday lives into interconnecting stories of hope. The films below illustrate the transformative power of community support and microfinance in changing lives:
- ‘Sweet Dawn’ features a mother who overcame both abuse and poverty. Through her passion for baking, she not only built a successful business but also laid the foundation for a brighter future for herself and her family.
- ‘Balud: Waves of Resilience’ tells the story of Lando, a fisherman who struggled to rebuild his family’s life after a devastating typhoon.
- ‘A Light in the Shadows’ focuses on Gloria, who sacrificed her dreams to support the love of her life. The film follows her years of personal struggles, showing how she supported her family and eventually established a thriving business with the support of her MFI.
- ‘Hope in the Tides’ is a story of resilience, following an 18-year-old whose dream of attending college seemed out of reach. With the help of a local foundation, she achieved her goal of becoming a teacher.
- ‘Escaping Poverty’ chronicles the journey of Bui Thi Thu Huyen, a member of the Muong ethnic minority from Ngoc Dong village in Phu Tho province, Vietnam. The film narrates how she faced the hardships of poverty early in life, until she got married in her 20s. Her membership in TYM enabled her and her husband to build a comfortable home and grow their enterprises through hard work and perseverance.
The empowering positive impact of community organization and financial inclusion is well-captured in all SineMaya film entries. I will write more about them in my next article.
Unique voices
By empowering microfinance clients to write, direct, and produce their own films, SineMaya serves as a platform for their unique voices to be heard. They are not only the writers, actors and directors of the films; their own lives, families, and communities are the heart of the narratives. SineMaya enables them to share their compelling stories, offering a powerful and authentic glimpse into their experiences, struggles, and triumphs.
The SineMaya Film Festival celebrates the power of film as both a mirror of society and a catalyst for transformative change. In many ways, its film entries serve as testaments to the crucial role of microfinance and community development in eradicating poverty.
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“Film can be a beacon in identifying who we are and where we are, while also inspiring us to where we could be headed.” — Gabes Torres
(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), a group of 23 organizations that provide social development services to eight million economically-disadvantaged Filipinos and insure more than 27 million nationwide.)