AVANT GARDENER

“If you plant, you can eat.”
 

So goes the often repeated line from the multi-award-winning Tigkiwili, one of the eight full-length films in the Puregold CinePanalo Festival, which runs until March 25 at Gateway Cineplex 18. The film garnered seven awards, including Best Actress, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actress, Best Screenplay, and Best Ensemble.

The film begins when, after the sudden and tragic death of his mother, a little boy suspects that his neighbor is an aswang. What the director first leads us to think is a horror film evolves into an earnest tale of curiosity, friendship, and strangely enough confronting the harsh realities of adulthood. 

Directed by Tara Illenberger, Tigkiliwi is set in a small town in Iloilo and shot in Hiligaynon. There are many aspects to the film but since this is an agriculture column, I’ll be concentrating on its agricultural aspects. 

Tigkiliwi is the Hiligaynon term for “dead season,” more commonly known as “tiempos muertos.” It comes from the Hiligaynon word “kiwi,” which means askew, referring to, according to the press release, “when the smiles on faces of people disappear.” It’s a time marked by extreme hardship. The superstitious believe that it’s a time when malevolent spirits descend upon an area while the more pragmatic believe that crime rises during this vulnerable time. 

Illenberger, who hails from Iloilo, said that the film was inspired by her real-life neighbor. “...when I was a child , there was a lonely but kind old woman rumored to be an aswang. Among her very few friends was my mom. And we had many domestic issues ourselves. Let's just say my father struggled with his temper.”

The film, which revolves around stories of found families, also emphasizes the opportunities that can be found in planting and post-processing. In this case, a small backyard cacao farm accidentally becomes the way for friendships (and in some cases, potentially even more) to blossom and for a bunch of outcasts to make money. 

For Illengerger, the cacao plant, which is turned into tablea and is a cottage industry in many provinces, is significant. “Not many people know that a fresh cacao bean tastes like santol. It looks and tastes nothing like chocolate. It is one product that has undergone such a big transformation...went through a complex process...and changes from bitter to sweet. Much like the human character.”

Nor is her interest in agriculture accidental. Illenberger is an avid gardener and native tree enthusiast. Farming has also formed a big part of her youth. “We had a rice farm and fish pond. I have observed the lives of rural folk, their rhythms, and their goodness. I wish to go back to the land when I retire in a few years.”

Despite Tigkiliwi’s light tone, the film tackles some dark themes and some plot points don’t find resolution. When asked what Illenberger hoped viewers would take away from the film, she said, “We see a lot of urban poverty in the movies. Sometimes we romanticize the quaint countryside. But even there, people struggle with poverty. It is sad yet beautiful. Also, poor people have beautiful, hopeful hearts too.”

The film is straightforward about the realities of small farming. It’s difficult, but with the right strategy, one might be able to make good business out of it. But most of all, there’s less chance of starving if one can harvest one’s food from one’s own space.

“If you plant, you can eat,” Illenberger said. “It might not be enough to send you to college or buy you luxury, but it surely will afford you a level of dignity.”