Marco Viaña

PINGKIAN: ISANG MUSIKAL is a full-length stage musical about the life of Emilio Jacinto during the tail end of the Philippine revolution up to the start of the Philippine-American war. Witness the trials and triumphs of a nation on the edge of revolution as Jacinto navigates the complexities of war with an unwavering commitment to the cause of freedom. Jacinto sustains serious wounds in an encounter with the Cazadores at Majayjay, Laguna. As he fights for his life, he is visited by the ghosts of Andres Bonifacio, his closest friend and the revered Supremo of the Katipunan, and Dr. Jose Rizal, his role model for citizenship and civic values. Together, they delve into Jacinto's haunting nightmares and aspirations for a heroic death— an introspective exploration that serves as a poignant examination of the Katipunan's conscience and his definition of Freedom.

Deep in the tropical rainforest of Southeast Asia, a series of incantations invoke the spirits of yore, including those of the nimble, tricksy Kancil (mouse-deer) and the ferocious Buaya (crocodile). The ancient animals enact their folkloric vendetta in a furious dance of dominance, yet long-overdue vengeance is shrouded in smoke. Meanwhile, an effigy of a tree is burning, summoning a whole other host of spectres and ancestors. Conceived during the month of the Hungry Ghost Festival in 2019, while large-scale fires were consuming the forests of Indonesia, Yeo Siew Hua’s An Invocation to the Earth confronts climate collapse through the lens of pre-colonial folktales and animistic rituals. Through spoken spells and bodily entanglements, the video conjures up the fallen environmental defenders of a region ridden with ecological threats in the hope that their spirits will be reborn once again.