Content warning: Depiction of gore

The indigenous people have been our unsung heroes over the years. Not many may know that their governance plays an instrumental role in preserving biodiversity. For them, the land is sacred and the cultural root of their lives. While they remain unrecognized, we must understand more about their diverse traditions and untold accounts.

In this year’s commemoration of the National Indigenous People’s Month, the Cultural Center of the Philippines’ Arthouse Cinema will hold a free movie screening of three Cinemalaya and Gawad Alternatibo films: “BWAYA” (2014), “Kalimed” (2008), and “Angan-Angan” (2008), on Oct. 14, 2 p.m. at the CCP Tanghalang Manuel Conde.

From full-length to shorts, these films will give you a peek into various POVs of different indigenous people in the Philippines.

“BWAYA” (2014) by late director Francis Xavier Pasion

Based on a true-to-life incident in 2009, this Cinemalaya 2014 Best Film follows a 35-year-old Manobo, Divina, who’s preparing for the 12th birthday of her daughter Rowena—until she hears the news of her daughter being decapitated by a crocodile in the marshlands of Agusan del Sur. As Divina scours for her daughter’s missing body, she discovers a lesson more tragic than the turn of events: not all predators live underwater.

“Angan-Angan” (“Dreams”) by Sheron Dayoc

“Angan-Angan” follows the story of a nine-year-old mute girl named Satra. Being part of the Yakan—one of the country’s 13 Moro ethnic groups—Satra finds herself in a rigid culture, but she doesn’t let this hold her back from striving for a good education.

“Kalimed” by Golda Mae Payong

Coming from the Cordillera mountains is Kalimed, a girl who gets a chance to attend the University of Makati. In her new journey, she strives to uphold her cultural diversity in a bustling city.

This is what Indigenous people have been facing, pre-Anti-Terrorism Act

The Lumad youth just want to go home, but violence won’t let them

Still from “Angan-Angan” trailer