Anne Curtis for KinseIn celebration of its 15th year, ABS-CBN News Channel (ANC) debuts “Kinse,” a powerful collection of 15 short films that discuss the topic of human rights—the violations, the gray areas and the stories of the people that are directly affected by them.

Created in collaboration with. Springfilm Foundation and the Embassy of the Kingdom of Netherlands, each of the four- to six-minute films tackles a wide array of issues that include domestic violence, media harassment, extrajudicial killings, children’s and women’s rights, indigenous rights and justice. “Kinse” is, undeniably, a fitting tribute to the 15 years that ANC has spent telling the real stories behind the lives of the Filipino people.

Ging Reyes said that ANC’s 15th year was a time for taking stock and assessing what they had done right, what they had done wrong and where they were heading. The ANC managing director, who also heads ABS-CBN’s News and Current Affairs Department, was on hand to welcome guests at the Tanghalang Aurelio V. Tolentino (CCP Little Theater) for the screening of the “Kinse” films along with ABS-CBN Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Eugenio L. Lopez III and other ABS-CBN executives.

“Kinse” comes on the heels of ANC’s controversial maiden project, “amBisyon2010.” Revolving around the issues of the 2010 elections and featuring the creative collaboration of 20 independent filmmakers, “am- Bisyon2010” received an X-rating from the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board and was not shown to the general public until much later, after the election.
“Kinse,” helmed by “amBisyon2010” executive producer Patricia Evangelista, now continues ANC’s tradition of truth and storytelling.

Evangelista, 25, is the cocreator, writer and executive producer of “Storyline,” a documentary show on ANC which, incidentally, turns three years old this month. The show won international acclaim at the New York Film Festival, having been nominated in three categories in 2011: Biography and Profiles, Current Affairs, and Community Portraits. For Community Portraits, the team took home a bronze world medal, while they bagged a silver world medal for Biography and Profiles. Evangelista’s personal advocacy is human rights, and she has taken it upon herself to champion it in her craft and through her work as a journalist. It is no wonder then, that she found herself spearheading the “Kinse” project.

Just as “amBisyon2010” was a collaborative work, 15 of the country’s finest minds in the film industry made “Kinse” possible: Erik Matti, Carlos Siguion Reyna, Mark Meily, Auraeus Solito, Raymond Red, Jim Libiran, Jon Red, Richard Somes, Ato Bautista, Kiri Dalena, Ray Gibraltar, Raymund Amonoy, Kidlat de Guia, Nico Puertollano and Paolo Villaluna, all of whom offered their time and talents pro bono, with only three months and a small production grant from ANC to work with.

To remain true to the creative vision of “Kinse” and the integrity of what they were hoping to accomplish, each filmmaker was given absolute creative freedom and funding by ANC and the Netherlands Embassy, with the support of the Commission on Human Rights.

“Kinse” was met with much praise at its by-invitation-only theatrical premiere. During the premiere, Evangelista thanked ANC and its partners for their support of the project. By way of explaining why “Kinse” meets the need for storytelling in a world that has grown jaded in the face of everyday horrors, Evangelista noted that “the truth is no longer enough to provoke persons to action. What we need now is imagination.”

There is definitely no lack of imaginative storytelling in “Kinse.” But it does not end simply with the telling of these stories.

“Kinse” showcases an array of social injustices told through cinema, aiming to draw the viewers out of their comfort zones and inspire them to take action. Evangelista said they hope that for every film in “Kinse,” “there will be one less victim whose story ANC will have to tell.”

The thought-provoking films vary in approach and topic. “Batch 2011,” directed by Palanca awardee Libiran, correlates the stories of young Katipuneros being inducted into the brotherhood of the revolution with the hazing rituals of a modern fraternity.

Villaluna, who cocreated and directs “Storyline,” defended gender rights with “Intolerance,” a coming-of-age story that mirrors what Villaluna believes is the national state of mind.

A particularly moving and poignant piece was Kiri Dalena’s “Memorial for Filipino Journalists,” covering 15 years of journalist murders and the lives that were broken.

“Indigenous Pelikula” by Auraeus Solit, whose full length “Busong” on the same topic went to Cannes this year, documented the death of the cultural traditions of indigenous tribes in the face of multinational interests.

One of the more provocative pieces tackled the currently white-hot topic of women’s rights and reproductive health. It’s ironic that Nico Puertollano’s “Labinlima” almost didn’t make it as part of the project that bears the same numerical name. The film, the only one Evangelista herself produced, was shot, written and edited five days before the premiere when one of “Kinse”’s 15 found himself unable to deliver the last film. Graphic designer Puertollano’s “Labinlima” lasts only three minutes, but even that could not detract from the beautiful harshness of the reality it presented. It tells the story of a mother of a family of 15 and how they manage to make ends meet despite the ever-growing number of mouths they have to feed.

“Kinse” did not lack for star power either, as showbiz heavy-hitters Angel Aquino, Anne Curtis and Gina Alajar also participated in this groundbreaking production. Alajar and a deglamorized Curtis make an appearance in Matti’s “Nang Tumambad ang Hubad na Katotohan.” While Alajar is no stranger to independent film, this is the younger actress’ first time to appear in an indie. Only a clip of the film, which was originally 15 minutes long, was shown at the premiere. The truncation must have pained both director and producer but TV audiences can still see the original-length film on ANC.

View the films of “Kinse” on ANC (SKYCable Channel 27) as a six-part TV special hosted by women’s rights advocate Angel Aquino (see sidebar for screening schedule).

ANC: 15 Films for 15 years

Catch the rest of the short films of Kinse on ANC on all Mondays of June at 9:30 pm.  Check schedule here.