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