Gawad CCP awardee and director Noni Abao depicts the realities of three Filipino land rights activists who stand between justice and family.
“Bloom Where You Are Planted” is the only full-length documentary film in this year’s Cinemalaya. It follows the lives of Agnes Mesina, Amanda Echanis, and Randy Villanueva, land rights activists based in Cagayan Valley Region.
“Bloom Where You Are Planted” is an eye-opening film on the injustice of Filipino farmers and activists. Yet, behind their anger is the sacrifices they make for their families and survival.
This documentary reminds the audience that an activist is also human. They are someone’s child, wife, husband, sister, brother, and most especially, a parent.
Activists fight for the greater good but at the cost of their personal lives.
Amanda, who was arrested in 2020 as a political prisoner, watches her child grow up through a screen. Randy, a father, is killed cold-blooded. Agnes, a mother, is torn between fighting for the plight of the farmers or to raise her child.
The story of Mesina, Echanis, and Villanueva is a reflection of the injustices that most activists experienced during the administration of former president Rodrigo Duterte. Land rights disputes and activists being jailed and silenced still occur today.
“Bloom Where You Are Planted” cleverly reveals the humanity of activists as a form of resistance against their red-tagging.
It tells Filipinos that no matter how grave the problems of the country are, they can be small seeds of liberation that will grow to fight for what is right in the coming generations.
The film won Best Editing and was hailed Cinemalaya 21 Best Film in the awards ceremony held on Oct. 12 at Shangri-la Plaza in Mandaluyong. Alexandra S. Demaisip
