Dexter Macaraeg

A young filmmaker is bent on recreating forgotten massacres from Philippine history, but when she begins shooting at a site where 1,000 men, women, and children were slaughtered, angry spirits are awakened and the lives of her team and the local villagers are put in peril.

This documentary is about Teofilo Garcia, and expert artisan from San Quintin, Abra, who was awarded by the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) with the Gawad sa Manlilikha ng Bayan or National Living Treasure for his dedication to the traditional craft of making gourd, locally called kattukong or tabungaw hat weaving.

Mai Fanglayan portrays Ayo, a young Tingguian woman with mix Ibaloi blood, goes on her first date at a Korean restaurant while her love interest is Franz, a former seminarian from Abra, who settled in Baguio City played by Kenneth Jhayve Bautista. Franz can’t seem to find love through dating apps, and decides to use his culture’s methods to arrange a marriage. Their differences lead to a small collision of expectations and perspectives, but what it opens up in the tension offers a glimmer of hope for the would-be couple.

Focuses on Norma Agaid-Mina, a weaver of Tingguian textiles from Penarrubia, Abra all her life. This documentary holds ups to the light, the expressive fibers of Tingguian culture, as well as strength and resilience of the weavers who make this into a tapestry of life.