12/08/2026
๐๐ฉ๐๐๐ข๐๐ฅ ๐๐๐ฉ๐จ๐ซ๐ญ
๐๐๐ฅ๐ข๐ค๐ฎ๐ฅ๐๐ ๐ซ๐๐ซ๐ฒ๐จ: ๐๐จ๐ฆ๐๐ ๐ ๐ญ๐จ ๐๐๐ฅ๐ญ ๐จ๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐๐ซ๐ญ๐ก
Documentary film production on agrarian reform will never be the same again after the Department of Agrarian Reform in Region 2 received 20 entries for the second edition of PelikulAgrario this year and doubled the number of entries last year at nine. The buzz is that while student film makers get exciting over the medium, they likewise realized the social and economic importance of what they are doing; as young partners for countryside development. They understand the power of documentary more impacting than a narrative.
For 21 year old BA Communication student Heinz Salvatera from Abulug, Cagayan, the experience as a film maker has been challenging and satisfying. While he has been into documentary film productions in the past, It was his first time to join the event this big.
โKakaiba ang dating ng film fest na ito. As a class production, iba pag Nakita mo na ang results ng pinaghirapan mo, โ he said. He said he thought film production was only a hobby until the film bug hit him and there was no turning back. Thanks to PelikulAgrario.
He appreciated the fact that they are telling stories with lessons and moving from one location into the next was a new experience. Pushing farmers stories to the forefront is another challenge.
Maryan Condoy Alambat of Gattaran, Cagayan, a 3rd year Development Communication student of Cagayan State University said the film workshop provided by DAR Region 2 was a big help. It improved her capabilities in film making.
โAs student-director for the film, the challenges varies. The casting and all hose production aspect can be a challenge to me,โ she added.
Salvatera and Alambat joins the news breed of film makers who are into telling stories from the countryside. In this scenario, the agrarian reform program in region 2.
When DAR finally decided to push forward stories of agrarian reform beneficiaries and organizations through the medium of film, it opened a thousand doors to the realities of agrarian reform program in the Philippines. They metamorphosed into untold stories told. Finally, the inside stories of the various agrarian reform beneficiaries and organizations came forward celebrating their triumphs, pain, hope, failures and aspirations rolled into one.
For all its worth, PelikulAgrario is not just a film documentary, it is an instrument to appreciate what the Department of Agrarian Reform has been doing to bring development trends in the countryside emancipating them from bo***ge to the soil they till. The program is likewise about a document that must be safeguarded and preserved.
The films capture the spirit of agrarian reform in the region, in the country. It is a vehicle that solidifies the sweat and blood of all government workers of the agency. Behind every frame of the documentaries are the sacrifices of these workers, at most rivaling the efforts poured by agrarian reform beneficiaries and organizations.
These student-film makers were exposed to training and workshop on documentary film production, enhancing their raw talents in the medium. While the entire film production is a challenge in itself, it becomes a self -expression for them. Itโs art imitating life and to capture life in a matter of minutes can be exhilarating.
September will be another cause for celebration for DAR Region 2 as the various films to the PelikulAgrario will be shown. It is not only entertainment. It is not only documentary film but a reason to see the impact of what DAR crafted.
Years from now, these student film makers and all stakeholders who made the documentaries will remember what they put in the film, not what they took out.
โ๏ธ Benjamin De Yro - Support Media Specialist
๐จโ๐ป King Pizarro - Graphic Artist
