MANILA – A music documentary made by a member of the Department of Science and Technology – National Research Council of the Philippines (DOST-NRCP) and funded by this agency is nominated for the Best Documentary category in the 41st Gawad Urian.
According to NRCP, the video, “Seven Dances of Life: Pledges to Others”, is about the indigenous music that highlights the socio-religious practices of two Sama-speaking communities in Tawi-Tawi Islands.
The film features ethnographic interviews, mixed with a series of dance rituals such as “Tabawan” dance and Sama ritual celebrations, to portray the mystical bound of an individual to his or her communities and lineages.
Jose Buenconsejo, NRCP member, ethnomusicologist and professor at the University of the Philippines-Diliman made this music documentary.
“(The video) was shot for eight days in March 2017. Then it was shown in the UP College of Music in June 2017,” Maria Elena Talingdan, chief Science research specialist at NRCP, told the Philippine News Agency (PNA) on Wednesday.
She added that the budget for this was around PHP300,000.
“All NRCP members can apply for the NRCP funding, but their projects must fall under the DOST priority areas or the NIBRA (National Integrated Basic Research Agenda),” Talingdan explained.
The DOST’s priority areas for research and development are agriculture, fishery, and forestry; semiconductor and electronics; agri-processing; integrated circuit design; renewable energy; creative industries; information and communications technology and artificial intelligence; industrial waste treatment; food and nutrition; infrastructure and logistics; manufacturing; and environment and climate change.
Meanwhile, Talingdan said that while there are other NRCP-funded projects, which have received recognition or awards, this is the first time that an NRCP-funded documentary got nominated in the Gawad Urian.
Gawad Urian is an annual award by the Manunuri ng Pelikulang Pilipino for outstanding Filipino-made films and documentaries.
The 41st Gawad Urian awards night will be held on Thursday, June 14 in Quezon City. (Ma. Cristina Arayata/PNA)
