Not only are farmers one of the most overworked and underpaid sectors in the Philippines—they’re also one of the poorest.
This is the grim reality depicted in “Ang Nagliliyab na Kasaysayan ng Pamilya Dela Cruz” (The Flaming History of the Dela Cruz Family) the Viddsee shortee winner for July 2021. This recognition is offered to the Asian short film that’s most watched, shared, and talked about for a specific month on the viewing platform.
Written and directed by Miguel Louie De Guzman, the 2018 film is set in 1971 Central Luzon. This period drama short follows the pains of the Dela Cruz family, their lives constantly in danger because of powerful people’s threats to the peasantry—in the very same place dubbed as the “rice granary of the Philippines.”
“Tayo ang nagtatanim ng palay, tayo ang nag-aani ng bigas, pero wala tayong makaing kanin,” cries Lina Dela Cruz (Angeli Bayani), the mother of the family, to her husband Nestor (Angelo Hulip). “Kahit gaano pa kalaki ‘yung lupang sakahin natin, kahit gaano pa kalalim ‘yung lupang bungkalin natin, sila’t sila pa rin ‘yung makikinabang!”
(We are the ones who cultivate the land and crops, harvest the rice, and yet we don’t have anything to eat. No matter how wide the field we plow, or how deep the land we till, they are still the ones who benefit from our hard work!)
An awakening strikes their son Tonio (Elijah Canlas) as he witnesses the brutality in their sector. This is in particular because of an event concerning his best friend Jun (Rex Lantano).
Canlas’ nuanced acting amps up the already rattling atmosphere of the film. Add up both the visuals and sound—which are nods to ’70s Filipino drama-horror movies—then you have a distressing portrait of terror, abuse, and injustice.
“Actually, parang walang ‘process’ na nangyari when we were making the film, because most of the things we planned during pre-production were almost completely scratched once we started shooting,” the 22-year-old director told Scout.
(Actually, I think we really didn’t have any “process” in making the film, because most of the things we planned during pre-production were almost completely scratched once we started shooting.)
“It felt like we were making an entirely different film. Originally kasi, the film was set in present-day Philippines but when I was reviewing the clips we shot, ang daming scenes na hindi nagwo-work technically and creatively so I decided to change the milieu of the film,” says de Guzman.
(It felt like we were making an entirely different film. Originally, the film was set in present-day Philippines but when I was reviewing the clips we shot, a lot of scenes weren’t working technically and creatively so I decided to change the milieu of the film.)
Ironing two timelines in the story made it easier for them to deliver the message. “I think it was director Antoinette Jadaone who said na minsan, ‘yung pelikula na ang magsasabi sa ’yo kung paano mo siya dapat ikwento. So we listened and everything just flowed from there.”
(I think it was director Antoinette Jadaone who said that sometimes, the film itself tells you how [the story] should be told. So we listened and everything just flowed from there.)
He continues, “Thankfully, it worked because I don’t think the message we are trying to amplify would be as loud and clear had we stuck with our original treatment: na ang pandarahas at pananamantala sa ating mga magsasaka ay isang danas na noon magpahanggang ngayon ay nagpupunyagi at kailangan na itong wakasan.”
(Thankfully, it worked because I don’t think the message we are trying to amplify would be as loud and clear had we stuck with our original treatment: That the violence and abuse of our farmers was a reality back then and is still a reality now, and it needs to end.)
Watch “Ang Nagliliyab na Kasaysayan ng Pamilya Dela Cruz” for free here:
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Stills courtesy of Miguel Louie de Guzman