Ajyal Film Festival 2024

All Films

The Headhunters Daughter (Hija ti Mengor)

Ajyal Competition - Ajyal Film Festival 2022

Don Josephus Raphael Eblahan / Short Narrative / Philippines / 2021 / 15 min / Colour / In English, Ilokano / Arabic, English subtitles
Rated: Parental guidance is advised for viewers under the age of 13. Individuals under the age of 13 are not admitted into cinemas unless accompanied by an individual aged 18 or older.

Synopsis

Lynn leaves her family behind to traverse the harrowing roads of the Cordilleran highlands in the Philippines, to try her luck in the city as a country singer. Motivated not by money or fame, she simply wants her voice to be heard and the chance to appear on television so her father might see her perform. Laden with vestiges of American colonialism, this Sundance awarded short is a haunting ballad about the erosion and ultimate replacement of indigenous cultural traditions.

About the Director

Don Josephus Raphael Eblahan is an independent filmmaker born of Ifugao and Visayan descent. Eblahan’s works explore themes of trauma, spirituality, and nature told through the cosmic lens of post-colonial spaces and indigenous identities. In 2021, Eblahan’s film ‘Hilum’ won the Student Prize and received Special Mention from the International Jury at Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival.

Credits

Director
Don Josephus Raphael Eblahan
Screenwriter
Don Josephus Raphael Eblahan
Producer
Hannah Schierbeek
Co-Producer
Alemberg Ang
Cinematographer
Don Josephus Raphael Eblahan
Editor
Don Josephus Raphael Eblahan
Production Company
Prima Materia Pictures
Sound
Henry Hawks
Mixing
Bonifacio B. Martin
Music
Don Josephus Raphael Eblahan
Cast
Ammin Acha-ur, Karla Prol Rev G. Naogsan, Pablo Quintos, Paul Brian Tulioc Baldoza, Shekinah Cudao

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