I can do all things through Christ…

I am not a religious and pious person. But I want to tell the whole world just the same—through this site (Thanks to wordpress which I only started last month!)—just how much I thank the Lord for giving me the opportunity to be an instrument of His will, no matter how small my contribution is to the people my films are serving.

I want to end this year 2008 with notes and loads of gratitude to Mama Mary, specifically the Queen of the Most Holy Rosary of Manaoag for the intercessions she has done in my behalf—most especially in allowing me to finish my “assignments” of making possible the seemingly impossible feat of making my feature-length digital documentaries “Alyana…” (a film on persons with autism) and “Silent Odyssey” (a film on Deaf Filipinos) and for continually leading and guiding me to my next advocacy film works in line. Yes! I made them just by walking with faith that “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me,” armored and only armed with determination, confidence, will power and belief that my films “shall be done” despite all types of hurdles. Miryad Visyon is Her vision!

Photos I took at Manaoag Church, Pangasinan (2008)

When I veered away from Mama Mary in the mid-70s, I was then a student of the Japanese Language. In order to write my real name in Katakana, I was presented with two options : to use either Miruna or Mirana. I chose the latter and adopted the name “Mirana” thereafter and continued to use it as my “screen name” until now.

In the last quarter of 2005, nearly three decades later when I got converted back to my belief in Mama Mary due to some events which inevitably and fortunately led me to it, I came to an awesome realization that “Mirana” with the letters jumbled around would spell as “Marian.” Isn’t that amazing that in all those years that I thought I have left and abandoned my belief in Her, Mama Mary has actually never left me at all?

(Sadly, this year 2008, I started hearing my name being used by my son and his peers. They are playing a strong and powerful character they say, named “Mirana” in a now popular online game called “Dota”!!! Ay, naku!)

Bloggers Kontra Publicists

Unlike most of the film publicists who write for a fee, bloggers generally write from the heart with no motivation whatsoever to write for cash. (See “Blogger’s Notes: Reaction to Alyana and SO” on the right column)

Beauty in the “extraordinary ordinary”

I have a page on the photos that I shot in my journeys to places where I go for a respite or to places where I would just have to sit and wait, mull over something, observe, think… To make dull moments worthwhile, I have spent those times taking snapshots of the “extraordinary ordinary” objects and subjects which caught my attention. The photos were mostly taken in Olang Arts Park in Siquijor Island, Bohol, Palawan, Cavite, Tanay and in Metro-Manila. Shots in Zamboanga and more in Dumaguete City will follow. (Please see the page on the right column under FILM SHOW RESPITE—Beauty in the “extraordinary ordinary”)

Sino si Alyana?

As part of reconstructing my thoughts to trace the trail “from Diliman to Silliman” of my film Alyana—A Study of Autism in the Philippines, covering the period from July 2006 to December 2007, I dug up my files—of virtual memories and actual materials on it. A message entitled “Sino si Alyana?” by Dang Koe, Autism Society Philippines (ASP) President, which was published and distributed by ASP-Bacoor Chapter is hereby reproduced for those who are curious to know who Alyana is.

Sino si Alyana?

Yan ang tanong ng mga kaibigang inimbitahang manood ng kauna-unahang Filipino documentary film sa autismo sa Pilipinas.

Ang sabi ng filmmaker na si Miranamedina, ang Alyana ay dapat mapanood ng mga taong walang alam at walang pakialam sa mga taong me autismo. Ang sabi ko naman sa kanya, dapat ring ipalabas ang Alyana sa mga taong gusto nating makialam, ngunit kulang pa lang sa alam.

Isa sa mga maling paniwala tungkol sa autismo na tinalakay sa nasabing dokyu ay ang paniniwalang ang isang taong me autismo ay “gagaling.” “Walang himala”… walang himala na isang araw ang isang taong me autismo ay magiging normal.

Ngunit gaya rin ng sinabi sa pelikulang “Himala,” ang himala ay nasa puso ng bawa’t nilalang.” Sa bawa’t Alyana, ang himala ay nasa pag-unawa, pagtanggap at pag-aaruga ng mga taong nakapaligid sa kanya upang siya ay matulungang maging isang kapaki-pakinabang na myembro ng ating lipunan….Sa mga tulong ng mga pamilyang “nakikialam.” makikilala ng lahat ng ating mga kababayan kung sino si Alyana at ang mga gaya niya.

(Click below to see excerpts from the film)
watch?v=tk_cDBq8F9Q

Who is Alyana?

That was the question posed by friends who were invited to watch the first [feature-length] Filipino documentary on autism in the Philippines.

Filmmaker Miranamedina said that Alyana must be seen by people who do not know anything about autism and who do not care at all about persons with autism (pwa). I told her that it should also be shown to people who care but lack knowledge.

One of the myths on autism that the documentary tackled is the notion that a person with autism can be cured. “Walang himala.” [There is no miracle]…no miracle that one day a person with autism will become normal.

However, like what was said in the film Himala “miracle is in the heart of each person.” In every Alyana [person with autism], the miracle is in inderstanding, acceptance and caring for pwa’s by the people around her so that she will become a useful member of our society.

…with the help of families who care, people will recognize who Alyana is and many others like her.

Note: Before one of the screenings of Alyana in Mindanao, I was asked by one of the organizers whether Alyana is a real person. [Surprisingly, no one among them had the film yet! Banking on word of mouth that the film is worth seeing, they got enough courage to schedule and show it. The screening turned out to be one of the most successful movie roadshows that we had].

Anyhow, I told that organizer that Alyana is real! And Alyana, the real Alyana (photo above) is my grandniece. — MM)

The SO Trail

The last quarter of 2008 saw the take off of Silent Odyssey… Hoping that 2009 takes SO to more and more places especially to far flung areas away from Manila. The welcome reactions to the film, the spark and desire it generates on the hearing audience to learn sign language is a clear sign on just how effective it has been to some people. That SO is not meant not only for the Deaf but for the hearing audience has succeeded as one of SO’s main objectives. (Detailed notes and some photos on the 2008 Silent Odyssey trail can be found on the right column under the same heading–”The SO Trail”).

Silent Odyssey’s past and future wanderings

After Silent Odyssey’s (SO) premiere screening at the UP Film Center Theater last September 20, 2008, its wandering started. Like Alyana it has the primary purpose of raising the awareness of our people regarding the sector’s plight and sentiments towards the society. A film on Deaf Filipinos, it held special screenings in several schools and places: Pampanga High School in San Fernando City; College of St. Benilde Auditorium in Taft Avenue and CSB’s School of Arts & Design Building in Vito Cruz, Manila; Southeast Asian Institute for the Deaf in Katipunan Road, Quezon City; Olongapo City National High School in  Zambales and Bethel Guest House in Dumaguete City, Negros Oriental.

De la Salle-College of St. Benilde President Bro. Victor Franco, FSC who watched SO and participated in the open forum remarked:

I want to thank you and congratulate you for this very important contribution to understanding the culture of the Deaf. It’s a very, very big step and I am really hopeful that all our students will get the chance to see this and I wish you all the best in the next films because you are really embarking on something very important…

Bible Institute for the Deaf in Bulacan through the initiative of its President Rev. Elena Castillo shall start SO rolling in January 2009 while Alyana will travel to Lipa City, Batangas in February under the auspices of Autism Society President. Philippine School for the Deaf PTA group intends to screen SO also in February while Davao City plans to have it shown in summer; Samar, Cebu and Bicol areas  sometime ahead. By next year too, Dumaguete City plans to have back-to-back screenings of SO with Alyana.

Plans are plans. Unless realized, they are dreams waiting to be fulfilled.

(More notes to be added in a few days)

Grand Launch at UP

Yesterday December 12, I was suppose to receive a certificate of recognition from the UP Press in behalf of my historian-brother Dr. Isagani R. Medina whose book “Cavite Before the Revolution” was chosen as one of those “written by some of the best minds the University has produced,” (From the letter of UP Press Director Ma. Luisa Camagay) but I arrived a few minutes late at Malcolm Hall in UP where the Grand Launch was held.

UP Press Centennial Publications Grand Launch

At the same time as the festive centennial celebrations in UP, bright lights shine as family members gather in the house of Dr. Ligaya M. Miranda, our eldest sister who died last Wednesday, December 10 of renal failure at 7:52 am in St. Luke’s Hospital. Both had doctorate degree titles—the former, a Doctor of Philosophy in History from UP, the latter a Doctor of Philosophy in Developmental Education at the University of Sto. Tomas. My brother was professor emeritus at the UP History Department and the National Commission for Culture and the Arts’ (NCCA) Lifetime Achievement awardee (Alab ng Haraya) in Cultural Research. My sister was the second president of Metro Manila College in Novaliches. She replaced her husband Dr. Mamerto Miranda Sr., founder of Novaliches Academy, the first private high school in Nova which later became the MMC. Both were educators.

When I think of them, I feel that I am a “good example of a bad student.” I did not complete my MA in Humanities because I got bored with academic studies after studying and obtaining from the Film and Television Institute in India  a Post-Diploma in Cinema major in Film Editing. I have in my heart however only a “little regret”  for having wasted my time earning more than 20 units of the course in Humanities as I really enjoyed going full swing into film production work with independent filmmaker Tikoy Aguiluz, my long-time friend, colleague and film collaborator.

Now that I am into production of my own film advocacy work and films that hope “to educate and raise the awareness” of some of our people regarding my subjects in focus, it seem that I have afterall taken the same path as my elder siblings did. I never wanted to be a “teacher” but my films which cut across provincial borders, social and cultural differences actually “educate” in a sense based on testimonies of serious film viewers and its stakeholders with regards my docus on autism and Deaf Filipinos. Looking back, I must have been indirectly “prepared” by God having given me “warm-up” assignments as art teacher at Don Bosco Technical Institute in Makati before joining the UP Film Center as film researcher in its early years sometime in 1977. Until the UP Film Center merged with UP Mass Communications to become the UP Film Institute in 2003, I was working with Fruto Corre and Joseph Fortin in our Cinema-as-Art program as workshop-facilitator /lecturer under the Film Education program of the Center. Recalling my “teaching” days is remembering the “sharing” of what I have learned. I share. I do not teach. That is what I always used to tell “my students.”

Right now, I actually feel more like a researcher than a filmmaker. I just use the film or video as my tool to share to others what I have researched on or studied and learned while entering diverse worlds.

Journey to Tagum

Formerly called “Magugpo,” I found Tagum City, described as one of the “medium-sized cities” in the Philippines to be a very peaceful and quiet place…

Said to be the being the biggest rosary in the world

(Alyana screening in Tagum City)

Last Saturday, December 6, 2008, “Alyana…” was screened to an audience approximately 500 in number. (For my complete notes on my Tagum City journey, see the page on the right column entitled “Alyana in Tagum City.”)

International Day of PWDs 2008

Republic of the Philippines
Civil Service Commission, Announcement No. 50 , s. 2008

“International Day of Persons with Disabilities in the Philippines”
Presidential Proclamation No. 1157 declared December 3 of every year as International Day of Persons with Disabilities.

This annual observance aims to promote an understanding of disability issues and mobilize support for the dignity, rights and well-being of persons with disabilities. It also seeks to increase awareness of gains to be derived from the integration of persons with disabilities in every aspect of political, social, economic and cultural life.

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It was my first time to attend the celebration of the International Day of Persons with Disabilities (PWDs) last December 3. This year’s theme is: “Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, Dignity and Justice for All of Us.”

Celebration at Mall of Asia

Having attended in the same venue (Mall of Asia) the Celebration of the Entry into Force of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disability last May 12, 2008, it seemed a re-echoing of May celebrations except that there were lesser attendees. And if my eyes were then set on the Deaf, it now shifted focus on the Cerebral Palsied (CP). Ranil Sorongon, Executive Director of Autism Society Philippines (ASP) who knows of my decision to make my next docu on CPs introduced me to Ms. Charito Manglapus, President of the Cerebral Palsied Association of the Philippines (CPAP). She lamented on the society’s misconception that CP’s are mentally retarded.

Ms. Charito Manglapus, President, Cerebral Palsied Assn. of the Philippines

I also managed to have a chat with Philippine Sports Association for the Differently-Abled (PHILSPADA) Sports Coordinator Dennis Esta. It’s just over a week since I started with my research on the CPs, yet I can imagine how sports could be quite challenging an activity for them. Mr. Esta mentioned that the sports CPs are usually engaging at is called “boccia.” Hearing the word for the first time, I was blank-faced. Later, a CP boy caught my attention as his sister and brothers fought in taking turns to push his wheelchair around. After roaming around looking for subjects, I finally joined the magnificent angels of ASP—the members of the Board of Trustees headed by ASP President Dang Koe.

On to my next destination_the World of the Cerebral Palsied

The morning of November 29, 2008 marked my official entry into the world of the Cerebral Palsied (CP). Footages of the lovable CP kids in Dumaguete City at the GPRehab Center being managed by my advocate friend, Analou Suan were shot and informal interviews with their caregivers—mothers and lola—were conducted as part of my research for my next documentary which at this stage has no title nor any form as yet.

Analou Suan plays with GPRehab CP kids

At this point, the CP film is but a great, grand dream knowing how difficult it would be again for me to realize it having no clear resources except some proceeds from the intermittent showings of my two previous films and small side jobs. I have dream bubbles in the air. Their realization is my challenge.

In seeing the CP kids, I had mixed feelings of sadness and pity, joy and happiness—what would their future be like? In the afternoon, I joined Analou and her amiable staff in the screening that they conducted in the Barangay Hall of Bacong in Metro-Dumaguete as part of their Community-Based Rehabilitation program. A baby, about a year-and-a-half years old with a very young mother was unfortunately screened positively as having cerebral palsy.

I am currently reading the book “Disabled Village Children” by David Werner which Analou gave me last November 30 before I returned to Manila. The book is easy to understand and the illustrations and pictures help a lot in understanding the physical deformities being discussed. A physical therapist (PT) by profession, Analou introduced me to cerebral palsy (CP) conditions such as spasticity and ataxia. Seeing the condition first-hand hastened my understanding of those words which used to only breezed through my ears because I have no knowledge about them at all. A PT staff, Imee also graciously shared with me her notes but they are so foreign to me, very medical and technical in approach that I feel like an idiot in trying hard to make sense out of what I was reading. Nevertheless, in time I would for sure understand at least a part, if not all of the contents. Well, that’s my hope.

I have tip-toed into the CP world…and I do not know how long I would take this time before I come to finally understand their condition. The film on autism took me two-years-and-a-half to finish; the film on Deaf Filipinos, nearly two years… Only God knows when I would be able to finish this one. I do have my own plans and target dates but when I fail to pursue them for reasons which at times are unexplainable, I just think that they are blessings in disguise. God is my planner. He shows me the way to get to the right people and to get the right information. Everything gets realized according to His plan.