the adventures of pinoy teachers in baltimore soon to be in sundance film festival as a documentary



Docu tells story of RP teachers, most in demand OFWs in US


By Bayani San Diego Jr.
Inquirer
Last updated 07:13am (Mla time) 07/29/2007


MANILA, Philippines-Although sleep-deprived, Filipino-American
filmmaker Ramona Diaz's mind swirled with all sorts of "compelling"
images: African-American girls in Filipiniana costumes dancing the
pandango sa ilaw and chanting "Pen-pen de Sarapen," an American school
principal and janitor swaying to "Pinoy Ako," the theme of the ABS-CBN
reality show "Pinoy Big Brother," and the film's American
cinematographer insisting on changing his citizenship to Filipino.

Diaz, whose 2004 documentary "Imelda" won Best Cinematography at the
Sundance Film Festival, was in the country for almost a month shooting
scenes for her latest documentary, "The Learning."

After controversial First Lady Imelda R. Marcos, the filmmaker has
aimed her camera at a group of Filipino schoolteachers who have
migrated to Baltimore, Maryland, to teach in inner-city schools.

Diaz and her team-director of photography Gabriel Goodenough and sound
man Paul Flinton-were in the Philippines recently to film the
homecoming of four teachers-all women: Dorotea Godinez of Cebu, Rhea
Espedido of Sorsogon, Mary Angel Alim of Antipolo and Grace Amper of
Cagayan de Oro.

It was a whirlwind trip, not only for the teachers, but also for Diaz
and her ragtag crew.

"It was tiring," she told the Inquirer in an interview at the Unitel
office in Makati City, a week before flying back to Baltimore early
this month.

Also present at the interview were Unitel chief Tony Gloria and two of
the docu's "stars," teachers Espedido and Alim.

"From Cagayan we went to Malaybalay, Bukidnon. We also spent some time
in Bogo, Cebu, also Legazpi and Manila."

Her American crew, however, savored the sights and sounds of the
countryside. "They couldn't believe that in their short trip, they saw
the real Philippines," she recounted.

Pinoy at heart

Cameraman Goodenough, who had developed a fondness for Pinoy rock
songs (like Alamid's "Your Love"), told Diaz he loved his stay here so
much he wanted to become a Filipino.

An American giving up his citizenship to become a Filipino? It was
unheard of! The Philippines' Bureau of Immigration wouldn't know how
to handle such an application, Diaz joked.

Turning serious, she estimated that she had accumulated 759 hours of
raw footage for "The Learning," set to premiere in the Sundance film
festival next year.

Unlike "Imelda," which centered on one person, "The Learning" is more
complex. "It's an unfolding tale-following multiple story lines," Diaz
said.

She has been shooting the docu for a year and a half-trailing four
teachers from their recruitment in the Philippines to their adjustment
period in Baltimore to their eventual homecoming after a year of work.

Like solving a puzzle

Principal photography is finished, according to Diaz. "It's almost in
the can. I just have two to three days to shoot the teachers' return
to the US."

Then the hard work begins-in the editing room.

"Documentaries like this are really fashioned in the editing room.
Editing can make or break a film. Docus need to be nurtured in post-
production," she said.

Diaz is hands-on in the editing room. "I do the choosing [of scenes]
because they are mostly in Tagalog and my editor, Kim Roberts, is an
American. If Kim were to watch everything that I've shot, it would
take her six months!"

Film as journey

The docu, produced by Gloria's Unitel, was also partly funded by the
Sundance Institute and the Center for Asian American Media.

"She's been shooting for over a year with very little resources,"
Gloria said. "A lesser filmmaker would've quit a long time ago.
Fortunately, she feels strongly about this story. It's been a journey
for Ramona and the teachers."

So what has kept Diaz to pursue what seems to be an exhausting
journey?

"I'm not a quitter. The thing is, something new was happening all the
time. In the end, the teachers themselves were calling me about the
latest developments," she said.

The seed

To think that Diaz picked up the project because she had wanted to
stay closer to home.

"After traveling constantly with 'Imelda,' I got so tired I wanted to
stay put in Baltimore, where I live," she recalled.

While browsing through the newspaper, Baltimore Sun, Diaz found out
about the first batch of Filipino teachers who moved to Maryland in
2005. That was the seed of "The Learning."

"But I wanted to focus on the second batch of teachers, so I can
follow them as they adjusted to their new life in the United States,"
she said.

In the process, the filmmaker and the teachers became close friends.

"I know things about them not even their own families know," she
quipped.

Stranger in the family

For instance, Diaz felt for Amper when she returned to the Philippines
and her 2-year-old son didn't recognize her.

Diaz experienced Alim's thrill when her African-American students
performed pandango sa ilaw and "Pinoy Ako."

"In the beginning, most of these school kids didn't even know where
the Philippines was," the filmmaker said. "It's good for these
marginalized students to get acquainted with a different culture
through their teachers. It widens their horizons."

She, however, did not gloss over the migration's possible negative
effect on the Philippine school system. "The good teachers are
leaving. Filipino children are not getting the benefits of being
taught by veteran teachers. But we can't really blame them. A lot of
these teachers told me that if only they were paid enough here, they'd
never leave."

Cream of the crop

In the fall of 2006, there were already 400 Filipino teachers in
Baltimore City.

Producer Gloria said: "In the docu, a school supervisor said the
United States is getting the cream of the crop. The students are
charmed by Filipino teachers because they're so motherly."

In one scene, Godinez, another teacher, was grilling an African-
American student who got pregnant, as if the teener were her own
daughter.

"Some of these kids have no parents to go home to," Diaz said.

Teachers Espedido and Alim told the Inquirer what it was like to teach
inner-city kids in the United States.

"We have a no-touch policy in school," Espedido said.

"But it's the kids themselves who embrace us first," Alim said.

"The kids' faces brighten up when they hug their teachers," Diaz
added.

Culture shock

Initially, the teachers encountered resistance. Espedido and Alim
recalled grappling with culture shock.

"I had to send a kid to the principal's office and he was just in
first grade," Espedido said.

"I had to remind the kids not to break the glasses [used] in pandango
sa ilaw," Alim said. "They found it strange that candles are used in
dancing because they only light candles for the dead."

Espedido and Alim also said their students described Filipino food as
"nasty."

Universal theme

Alim related: "I brought them to a Philippine festival and treated
them to halo-halo. At first, they said it was weird but they finished
their halo-halo."

Diaz said: "You have to be tough. It's a hard population to teach. But
at the end of the day, you realize they are just children."

She admitted that the docu was a challenging shoot but she would
gladly relive the process of telling the teachers' stories.

"In a way, it's a homage to the teaching profession," she explained.
"It reflects our time. The theme is very universal. Filipinos are not
the only ones flocking to the US, thinking it's a land of milk and
honey ... only to discover it's not always milk and honey."

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