The Headhunters Daughter (Hija ti Mengor)
Ajyal Competition
Don Josephus Raphael Eblahan / Short Narrative / Philippines / 2021 / 15 min / Colour
In English, Ilokano / Arabic, English subtitles
Interests: Drama, Family, Identity
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 Directors
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