Documentary producer Irena Taskovski was in town recently for a five-day DocsConnect training program. Along with Taskovski were Oscar nominee Hubert Sauper and editor Alexander Goekjian. Their visit was part of a collaborative partnership between the Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP) and Taskovski Films Ltd. with hopes of developing our country’s documentary filmmakers. It took place at Seda Manila Bay in Parañaque.

“What is beautiful—people coming from different parts of the Philippines, different levels of experience, different ages,” says Irena. “It was a big mix, those who have done something, gained more experience, and those who are starting. There were a lot of good ideas.”

Selected Filipinos underwent training in various areas of the industry, from development to distribution. They were made aware of the impact of these areas on the film industry. DocsConnect’s unique selling point is its integration of mindfulness in the filmmaker.

“We bring awareness to self-care and wellbeing of film industry members, whether filmmaker, a producer, cinematographer, sound designer…” says the Taskovski Films’ CEO and founder. “We do sessions of self-care through mindfulness in motion. We also brought in conscious filmmaking, which is looking closer at who we are, what happened in our lives, how that affects our filmmaking, being aware of what effect we can make.”

Young filmmaker JT Trinidad is developing Bago pa Tayo Malimutan ng Mundo (Before the World Forgets Us). “We were taught about self-care and it is refreshing,” says the Singapore International Film Festival 2023 Silver Screen Award winner. “I think what I got from this workshop is insightful thoughts from the mentors. It is a pre-development project but talking to the mentors, it really helped us be more tangible, more concrete with the structure of the film.

Sef Arcegono is making Iti Aweng ni Imelda (Imelda’s Melodies) with Jerome Dulin. The two filmmakers are from the provincial capital of Cagayan and attended DocsConnect in Spain. Comparing his stints in Spain and Manila, Sef got to know about the Europeans’ point of view. “Nagkakaroon ng iba’t ibang POV kung paano nila nakikita ‘yung docu namin (We learned different point of views from the participants),” he muses. 

Miguel Alcazaren is finishing his epic documentary, Children of the War, a passion project about his father who survived the Battle of Manila in 1945. “I’ve never really attended a set-up like this. I didn’t know there are so many more approaches to the documentary filmmaking than I knew,” he confesses. 

Khaye Medina, producer of Lakambini: Gregoria de Jesus, got to know herself during the workshop. “The soul of creating an advocacy is inside you and you get to understand your core values in order for you to develop your film,” says Medina. “Hearing the notes from other people, or foreigners, it is very helpful for us to make the film more universal. We can touch other people.”

For Kristoffer Brugada of the We, Men project, the workshop was enriching and refreshing. “Its unique approach on how the workshop was conducted—wholistic and it’s not just the practical stuff but it also focused on the mental and emotional aspect of producing and making films. In the workshop, they trained us how to handle stress, how to be better filmmakers by taking care of ourselves.”

People watch films. Documentary films can make a big impact on society. “It is important that we deeply think about ourselves, the stories we want to make,” says first-time visitor Irena. “I am very happy to be here.”