San Diego Union-Tribune (Sunday)
‘Sine Kwento’ exhibit engages San Diego’s Filipino community
New exhibition at Bonita Museum & Cultural Center showcases Filipino and Filipino American films
In many ways, the lives and careers of Benito Bautista and Emma Francisco have all been leading up to this moment. For years, the two filmmakers have tirelessly promoted not only their own films, but also the films of their native Philippines and those of Filipino Americans.
Since first meeting at a San Francisco concert two decades ago, Bautista and Francisco have traveled all over the world, from Costa Rica to Japan, to work on over a dozen film projects, including features, short films, documentaries and music videos.
Still, “Sine Kwento: Filipino Stories in Film,” a new exhibition that opened Saturday at the Bonita Museum & Cultural Center, might be their biggest undertaking yet.
“We do a lot of yoga early in the morning,” says Bautista, laughing. “And we drink really strong coffee, and we drink it all throughout the day. We never stop.”
“But what really drives us to do all of this at the same time is that we love stories and film,” Bautista continues. “We’ve seen its power to change us. We’ve seen how important it is to start a dialogue so that we can grow and learn.”
Showcasing storytellers
It’s that drive that has led Francisco and Bautista to found the nonprofit San Diego Filipino Cinema in 2018 and, most recently, to co-curate “Sine Kwento.”
The two set out with the goal of giving the “local community an introduction to the history of Philippine cinema and give homage to the classic, landmark films,” Francisco says.
Initially, this would have included multiple film screenings, artifacts flown in from the Philippines, and a photographic exhibition of photographs from the late director Cesar Hernando. Then COVID-19 hit. “Given the current pandemic situation, we opted not to bring in the precious film artifacts from the Philippines,” Francisco says. “But most of the original plans that we had will be realized because of the amazing support from our partners.”
“In terms of licensing it and going to the filmmakers, it just didn’t work out this time,” adds Bautista.
Even with the setbacks, the final realization and execution of “Sine Kwento” — translated as “stories in film” — is very impressive. The three-week exhibition will still include the tribute to Hernando, and the curators have still managed to put together an impressive schedule of programming.
There will be a live, socially distanced performance on Nov. 14 that includes spoken word performances, dance and music from Filipino DJS. The two have also been busy selecting films for “Lokal Shorts,” a series of 15 locally produced films from Filipino-americans that will be screened online on Nov. 23. The screenings will also include panel discussions with the filmmakers.
“The aim of the showcase is to recognize and highlight emerging Filipino storytellers and filmmakers from San Diego,” says Francisco, who moved to San Diego with Bautista from the Bay Area in 2015. “We also want to encourage these filmmakers to connect with each other, potentially do future collaborations in films, and simply create a strong and thriving community of filmmakers that will continue to tell and record important stories for future generations to learn from.”
Engaging the community
The most impressive undertaking, however, is the exhibition itself. This includes an introductory video where visitors are greeted with a monitor showcasing the history of Filipino filmmaking, compiled with help from the Film Development Council of the Philippines.
There is also the duo’s creation of an interactive art installation of hand-sewn quilts that will serve as projection screens for classic and modern Filipino films. Titled “Tela-nobela” (“Fabric Stories”), the quilted drapes were assembled using personal clothing donated by the Filipino and Filipino American community.
“We decided we wanted to really engage the Filipino community in San Diego in a way where we were going to learn about their stories, their struggles or their work,” says Bautista.
The duo asked for clothes donations from local Filipino Americans, then cut and sewed them up to assemble what Bautista calls a “united” representation of the community.
Clothes they don’t use for the drape will also be used as accentuation around the curtains, and Bautista says he hopes that visitors will also be able to touch the installation.
“There will be three curtains, and what you’ll see is the projection going through some of the holes in the curtain and going through to the other one,” Bautista says. “Every single panel of the curtain has been worn and represents across generations and genders of the San Diego Filipino community.”
Still, assembling the quilted curtain made from donated clothes was no easy feat.
“It’s so hard, man,” laughs Bautista. “For one, there’s COVID, so when people donate the clothes, we have to tell them they have to call first. And when we are cutting, we have to zone it very carefully so we’re distanced. It’s a huge undertaking.”
When the Bonita Museum exhibition ends on Nov. 30, Francisco and Bautista hope to continue the project.
“In many ways, it’s a catalyst for storytelling,” Bautista says. “‘Tela-nobela,’ like the ‘Sine Kwento’ exhibit, is an introduction to a bigger project, because Emma and I are going to try to bring both to the major cities in America. We want the ‘Tela-nobela’ installation to grow and be expanded. If it goes to San Francisco, for example, we want the community there to add on to the curtains.”
“The whole symbol of this is that our stories will continue,” Bautista continues. “That they will be recorded and expressed through films. And if we don’t do that, nobody’s going to pay attention.”