The MindaNews Podcast

In this first episode of the Lifting Local Podcast, we feature Olive Puentespina of Malagos Farmhouse Cheese, an icon of Davao culinary specialties. This business, along with other endeavors they have such as Malagos Chocolate and Davao Thermo Biotec Corporation, are truly some of the most impactful local businesses in Davao and Mindanao.

Executive Producer: Yas D. Ocampo
Host: Liezl Salera-Manabat

The Pilot Episode features MindaNews editors Bobby Timonera and Boy Mordeno and social media manager Yas D. Ocampo talking about their adventures in running. 🏃‍♂️

Executive Producer: Yas D. Ocampo
Art by Keith Bacongco

During the 2022 Cinemalaya Independent Film Festival—a Filipino film festival still largely Manila-centric—four films tackled Mindanao in their narratives, whether as a central subject and setting, or tangentially, with the 2017 Marawi Siege in the background. The production of these films followed the tradition of film production that dates back to Marilou Diaz Abaya’s Bagong Buwan (New Moon) made in 2001 up to 2019 with the release of Brillante Mendoza’s Mindanao. Similar Cinemalaya film productions in the previous years have also featured the Mindanao subject in their narratives.

This podcast conversation examines how each film imagined the idea of Mindanao, particularly its image as a perpetually-mined site for narratives of war and conflict, preoccupying the consciousness of filmmakers away from the region. While admittedly non-Mindanao filmmakers face certain challenges and production limitations, this preoccupation is a point of interest that is worthy of probing into particularly how these filmmakers negotiate with the historical, social, and psychological dimension of the unrest in Mindanao into the narratives of their films, which cover decades-long conflicts and the very recent threats of terrorism.

The films discussed are: The Baseball Player by Carlo Obispo, set during the 2000 all-out war of the Philippine government against the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF); Angkas (Backride) by Rain Yamson, a road-trip buddy movie on habal-habal which touches on the communist insurgency, supposedly set in Mt. Diwalwal; 12 Weeks by Anna Isabelle Matutina, about NGO worker Alice who is faced with a life-changing decision after an unwanted pregnancy; and Bula sa Langit (Triggered), which is about a returning soldier fresh from the Marawi Siege faced with trauma and the difficulties of regaining normalcy from the experience of war.

The lack of accessibility to these films is also pointed out, even with the current trend of streaming services acquiring indie film titles to diversify their film catalog. These films were only shown during a limited local run at the Cinematheque Davao but also did not draw in a considerable number of audience with the limited promotions in social media.

Minda Salida hosts Jay Rosas and John Bengan look back at the three-year gap of the podcast to give a brief snapshot of the Philippine and regional film scene, particularly in the post-pandemic context with film productions and film-related events like festivals slowly returning to normal.

There is also an observed lack of full-length film outputs from Mindanao filmmakers since productions and activities returned to normal. However, new filmmaking voices continue to emerge as short films still reign in regional film festivals. Lastly, Rosas shares that two upcoming first full-length feature films from Davao filmmakers will soon go into production like Wowa Medroso’s Kantil (a Cinemalaya 2024 film) and Jarell Serencio’s The Boy and Flight of Spiders (which won a grant during the last QCinema International Film Festival), aside from upcoming full-length films from Teng Mangansakan and Bagane Fiola.

This Minda Salida podcast, completed under the Arts Equator fellowship, was produced in partnership with MindaNews and the first episode after three years since it was launched in 2020. (Listen to the previous ten episodes on Spotify here.)

Hosts: Jay Rosas and John Bengan
Special thanks: AVL, Bagane Fiola, Melona Mascariñas, Anj Estrella, Rap Meting, Bobby Timonera, Carolyn Arguillas

Audio editor: Alexis Rafael Delola

Executive Producer: Yas D. Ocampo

In this first music edition of the MindaNews Podcast, Yano co-founder and guitarist Eric Gancio shares with journalist Yas D. Ocampo the ups and downs of iconic Filipino rock icon Yano. Gancio discusses the band's beginnings, their rise to fame in the 1990s, and their continued influence on Filipino music.
This podcast episode is brought to you in partnership with Holodeck Productions, Cinedashery East, and Alberto's Pizza.

Where do our disposable PPEs go?: Assessing waste management in the time of COVID-19
It has been six months since COVID-19 disrupted our lives: the way we do business, how we interact with our family and community, our traditions, school systems, and how we face the world when we do venture outside our homes.
In this podcast of our web forum held online on August 24, we have invited resource speakers from the health department, Department of Environment and Natural Resources and environment organizations to share with us their insights.
"Where do our disposable PPEs go?: Assessing waste management in the time of COVID-19" Web Forum is organized by MindaNews, the news service arm of Mindanao Institute of Journalism, Inc., in partnership with the Internews and Earth Journalism Network.
Podcast produced and edited by Yas D. Ocampo and Rob Gumba
Executive producer: Amalia Bandiola Cabusao
Director: Rob Gumba
Voice talent: Jessica Hye

All presentations from the Web Forum are available for download.