In poor, crowded neighborhoods in the Philippines, nights are pierced by the cries of the survivors.

They wail while fathers, sons, and lovers are carried out of their homes lifeless or after they’re found on the street as the handiwork of masked assassins.

For many TV viewers these days, the screaming and weeping are the voices of the poor that they most commonly hear.

To produce “Busal”, Howie Severino and his documentary team seek out the normal voices of the poor – the storytellers and explainers, and even stage actors.

They meet Lilian, an artistic grandmother who is raising her grandchild in Manila North Cemetery, while eking out a living among the dead.

They chill with Christian, an enterprising 20-year-old who grew up under a bridge and put himself through school. He now teaches at-risk youth.

They shadow Waldo, an unusually articulate homeless man who drives a tricycle by day and sleeps in it by night wherever the cops won’t drive him away.

The three converge in a play that they help stage for a VIP audience. Through song, humor and dialogue, they voice the daily humiliations and dangers that mark the lives of the urban poor.

Together they push back against the tide of dehumanization of the destitute that has made killing them increasingly acceptable.

*Busal: the Filipino word for muzzle

I-WITNESS: B U S A L

(Busal* first airs in the Philippines on SATURDAY, OCTOBER 22, 2016. 11 P.M. on GMA-7)

Executive Producer: ISEL CARINGAL
Director: JAZEL KRISTIN VILLAMARIN
Writers: JANUS VICTORIA, ISEL CARINGAL, HOWIE SEVERINO
Researcher: ICIA DE GUZMAN
Camera: CHRISTIAN CARREON
Video editors: TIN MACATULAD-CHUA, ISABELLE ESTEIN, FREDIE ABRIL

CLICK TO WATCH FULL EPISODE: http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/video/388249/iwitness/i-witness-busal-dokumentaryo-ni-howie-severino–full-episode

In line with its program to support all forms of art, whether visual or performing, and to highlight the capacity of art to inspire more art and cross genres, nationalities, and forms, the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) is proud to present a group exhibition entitled In Transit as a venue grantee of the CCP’s Visual Arts and Museum Division (VAMD) for 2015.

In Transit is principally about looking into and rethinking the creative process involved in artistic practice. It is also an exercise in bridging the gap between artistic stimulus and final output. The works in the exhibition were made through a prearranged process, from video, to audio, to material; and entailed varying degrees of interaction and dialogue among artists of different backgrounds, preferences and creative practice.

The brainchild of Jazel Kristin, In Transit stems from a video shot by the artist in 2014. Jazel Kristin often makes use of video in her work, creating pieces that depict her preoccupation at a certain point in time. The video, from which the title of the exhibition is taken, is called In-Trance-It. It shows a stream of people walking, sometimes into themselves and other times away from their own image. The kaleidoscopic rendering of people passing through what seems to be a busy thoroughfare doesn’t give any indication as to where everyone is headed, and is almost hypnotic in its repetition. The sound of the rhythmic footsteps on the floor continues as the images are distorted and then returned back to their original angle. The large projection motions viewers into the CCP’s Bulwagang Fernando Amorsolo while the music compositions and art pieces are exhibited on either side of it.

Working with the video as their point of reference, musicians and artists of varying nationalities, interests, and expertise, were asked to collaborate and create a new piece in their respective media for the exhibition. The musicians were tasked to make a new composition based on the In-Trance-It video, a copy of which was given to them a few months before the exhibit was set to open. They would then send their new piece to the artist assigned as their partner at a pre-arranged date. No explanation was made as to the idea behind the video, allowing the musicians the freedom to embed their own meaning in it. Finally the artist was to make a visual art piece from the composition given to them, in any medium they prefer. The idea was to make something from a point of reference that came in the form of a completely different media.

While the other aim of In Transit was to demystify the process of creating an artwork, whether a musical piece or a visual art piece, somehow it ended up asking broader questions than giving any concrete answers. Does what we listen to while working directly influence our output? Does having a certain amount of knowledge or information about an artist influence how you will receive or perceive their work? How are images formed in our minds from music? The exercise continues.

-M.R. Estrada, 2015

READ: http://manila.coconuts.co/2015/07/30/transit-exhibit-see-how-video-can-influence-music-can-influence-art