Film Screening followed by Q&A and reception
Monday, February 3, 2025
5:00 PM - 8:00 PM (Pacific Time)
Charles E. Young Research Library Main Conference Room
280 Charles E Young Dr N
Los Angeles, CA 90095
Produced and edited by Reuben T. Domingo and Tita Pambid
Bahala si Bathala sa mga Banal na Bata ("God Will Take Care of the Blessed Children") is a glimpse into the Mt. Banahaw spirituality of the Tagalogs in the Philippines. It is a journey to visit the spiritual sites up the holy mountain in Luzon, guided by anthropologist Dr. Prospero R. Covar, the leading expert in the field of Filipino spirituality. It is also a personal recollection and reflection to unravel a belief system the filmmakers grew up with. The documentary celebrates the Filipino genius and the complex realms of beliefs they navigate in order to have a peaceful life free from want and difficulties, and to attain spiritual bliss and salvation in the "other" life.
The study was conducted from 1974 to 2023. The researchers/filmmakers followed the group called Ciudad Mistica De Dios Mystic City of God) during ordinary days as well as during important occasions and ritual performances such as the "Flag Raising ritual", celebration of the birthday of the foundress sacrifice such as self-flagellation during Holy Week, visiting the different natural shrines in the mountain, weddings, funeral wake, masses, daily prayers without end and nightly processions. The film features Dr. Prospero R. Covar, foremost Philippine cultural anthropologist and his class from Maryhill Seminary and Catholic priests and nuns during an overnight class field trip to the natural shrines in the mountain.
Reuben Domingo, Filipino filmmaker, created documentary features for Metromagazine in the early 1980s. He was a documentary filmmaker and crew for the art department of Apocalypse Now in Pagsanjan, Laguna during that time. He was also involved in the burgeoning Filipino experimental film efforts in the 1980s garnering awards for Shaman Wars and Taong Grasa before immigrating to the Unite States. He spent the 1990s in the Hollywood film industry and then in the architecture field. In 2020 during the start of the pandemic, he picked up his old footage and photographs of a spiritual field trip to Mt. Banahaw to make this film with his wife and film collaborator.
Tita Pambid holds a PhD in Philippine Studies from the University of the Philippines, Diliman. She is the author of Anting-Anting o Kung Bakit Nagtatago sa Loob ng Bato si Bathala ("Amulet or Why the Tagalog God Hides Inside a Stone") published by U.P. Press. She is an actor, playwright, and director. Pambid was associate director, researcher, co-writer and actor in IANFU, a 15-minute feature film on Filipino comfort women during World War II, shown in the Melbourne Film Festival in 1992. It won first prize in the 1993 Gawad CCP Para sa Alternatibong Pelikula (Cultural Center of the Philippines Award for Alternative Film and Video), and garnered the Special Jury Award for Short Narrative at the 37th San Francisco International Film Festival in 1994. She currently lectures at the Asian Languages & Cultures Department at UCLA.
Sponsor(s): Center for Southeast Asian Studies, Asian American Studies Center, Asian American Studies Department , UCLA Library