Filmmaker and UPV professor, Kevin Pison Piamonte initiated two exclusive film previews on March 1 and 3 for his upcoming film project, which dares to make a statement in the midst of the human rights violations issues we face today.
Baboy Talunon (Wild Boar), an adaptation of fellow UPV professor and writer Ferdinand Pisigan Jarin’s short story, Habulan (Chase), was born out of the ongoing full-length project that they are also working on.
“We are actually creating some kind of a team work with Ferdie Jarin for a full-length film but we thought to start with a short material. So we asked Ferdie if he could come up with a short story for a possible film adaptation,” Piamonte said.
While fictional in its approach, the story centers on a very relevant and important topic on human rights violations and red tagging faced by the tumandoks (indigenous people). Piamonte thought that he had to make his film as relevant and significant as possible considering the many baseless attacks that have been going on for the past years.
He added, “We have to respect human rights. We have to remember, if we think this is about us, against the military and vice versa, no. Nobody’s gonna win in this war.”
Asked why film is an important medium to communicate his message, “Film as a medium is far-reaching. Film as a medium is very sensual in the sense that it can make you empathetic with what is happening, with what you see because film is larger than life. Film is encompassing -- it holds you, it grips you.”
Baboy Talunon is co-directed by Kenneth Dela Cruz and produced by Prof. Bobby Rodriguez. The film is a project made possible through the Vice Chancellor for Research and Extension Creative Work Funding Window.
The executive previews were attended by the production team, some family members, and select faculty members and personnel of UP Visayas, headed by Chancellor Dr. Clement Camposano.
