BLOOM WHERE YOU ARE PLANTED

BLOOM WHERE YOU ARE PLANTED
by Noni Abao

82 MINUTES | Documentary

PRODUCTION
DIRECTOR/SCREENPLAY/PRODUCER – Noni Abao
CINEMATOGRAPHER – Steven Evangelio, Mike Olea
EDITOR – Che Tagyamon, Arnex Nicolas
ORIGINAL MUSIC SCORE/RESEARCHER – Glenn Barit
SOUND DESIGN – Mikko Quizon, Wapak Studios
EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS – Taripnong Cagayan Valley, Hyperfocus, WAF Studios
PRODUCER – Alex Poblete
RESEARCHER – Leslie Corpuz
LIVE SOUND – Andre Yan, RM Aborque
COLORIST – Carla Manalo
ONLINE EDITOR – Noah Loyola

LOGLINE
Three land rights activists contend with their volatile notions of home amid terror and red-tagging in Cagayan Valley.

SYNOPSIS
The Cagayan Valley Region in the Philippines serves as the dedicated workplace of Agnes (a development worker), the chosen home of Amanda (a jailed mother-artist-activist), and the birthplace of Randy (a slain peace consultant). Yet, they find themselves unable to return home: one is relentlessly pursued by the government, another is imprisoned, and the third is killed on his journey home. The paths taken by these three activists will be explored including the pit stops, obstacles, detours, and the long road ahead in the journey towards rebuilding a home with the people of Cagayan – a place that they work together to shape, and also shape who they are. Amid all these, the film explores their disrupted connections to home and celebrates their enduring resilience in the face of adversity.

FILMMAKER’S PROFILE

NONI ABAO is a graduate of Film at the University of the Philippines Diliman. He works as a freelance producer and production manager for films and digital content. His documentary film “Dagami Daytoy (This Is Our Land)” won best documentary at the 32nd Gawad CCP para sa Alternatibong Pelikula at Video, and Yale Environment 360! It was also screened in international festivals in Bangladesh, Malaysia, South Korea, and Nepal. In 2019, he produced Glenn Barit’s debut feature “Cleaners” and Che Tagyamon’s short “Judy Free,” both won Best Film in QCinema International Film Festival 2019. Currently, he is affiliated with Taripnong- Cagayan Valley, a network of professionals forwarding concerns of Region 2.

DIRECTOR’S STATEMENT

The project originally titled “Transients” started in 2019 sparked by the news of the killing of Randy Malayao, a peace consultant of the National Democratic Front of the Philippines. Currently, the Philippine’s President is the son of the former dictator, Ferdinand Marcos Sr. While the Vice-President is the daughter of the former President Rodrigo Duterte, who is responsible for systematic human rights violations and extrajudicial killings in the country. Throughout the development of the concept and as the political climate of the Philippines took a turn for the worse, the film grew to include the stories of community development worker, Agnes Mesina and artists-activity, Amanda Echanis. The filmmaker was intrigued by their concepts of home and impermanence – Agnes who cannot go home to her son because of continuous threat of arrests, Amanda who chose to move to an unfamiliar place to help farmers using artistry until arrest, and Randy’s willingness to be on the move in his pursuit of peace. Persistent attacks on farmers, social justice advocates, and rights activists happen almost every day. This prompted the filmmaker to focus on land rights, which has been a problem of the Cagayan Valley region as the top producer of rice, corn, and vegetables in the country. The filmmaker worked in the Cagayan Valley region for years as a human rights worker. During the years that he worked and immersed in their farms and homes, he got closer to the region and fully understood the hardships of farmers as well as the struggle for just and lasting peace. This film is dedicated to the warm Ilokano, Ybanag, Cagayan Valley residents, and activists who embraced the subjects and filmmaker in their ranks. May we all find our chosen homes wherever it may be.