Just last March 30, 2021, SPARK! Philippines and the Embassy of France to the Philippines and Micronesia premiered the film entitled “Voices from the Sidelines” by Lyka Gonzalez and Pau Villanueva. The film featured five women with diverse backgrounds talking about the struggles they faced as a woman in their life. These five women include Pia Ranada, Mela Habijan, Billie and Ann Dumaliang, and Sweenee Sajili.
Emphasizing the role of film and the arts in advocacy, French Ambassador Michèle Boccoz welcomed the production of this short documentary as a unique initiative to give a voice to women and include them in debates and decision-making.
“As we address global and domestic challenges – be it poverty, armed conflict, climate change or the COVID-19 pandemic – women and girls must be at the center in order to come up with solutions that are truly concrete, long-term, and inclusive,” Ambassador Boccoz said during her opening remarks.
The Opening Remarks were followed by a keynote speech by Mayor Joy Belmonte of Quezon City. Mayor Belmonte stressed how there are films that portray women negatively. However, there are many films that portray women as someone who brings about positive change. “Let us continue to use film as a platform to empower women and to depict the crucial roles they play in changing the course of history”. she said.
Special messages were given by Rep. Vilma Santos- Recto, Rep. Geraldine Roman, Rep. Maria Lourdes Acosta-Alba, and Mayor Abigail Binay.
Rep. Vilma Santos-Recto talked about her journey in shifting careers in which she experienced difficulty. She also talked about the importance of having women leaders especially now that we are living in different times. She said, “We cannot ignore the accomplishments and successes of several women leaders around the world in helping their nations overcome the challenges of this pandemic.”
The second special message was given by Rep. Geraldine Roman, Representative of Bataan’s 1st district. She showed her support for SPARK! Philippines’ initiative in mainstreaming gender issues in different forms of media. She said “Napakahalaga po that we start breaking barriers, debunking stereotypes, and promoting positive portrayal.”
In the special message of Rep. Maria Lourdes Acosta Alba, representative of the first district of Bukidnon, she said “We also know that media systematically depicts a male-dominated socio-cultural, political, and economic order. This serves as a continuous reinforcement of the negative gender roles, stereotypes of women. In the portrayal of women in movies, women are perceived as the weaker sex and inevitably, as sex objects. That is why we have to change the way women are portrayed in films and challenge stereotypes.” Like the other speakers, she gave emphasis on how women are portrayed negatively in films and this is something that needs to be changed and challenged.
Lastly, the last person to give a special message in support of Women and Film was Mayor Abigail Binay of Makati City. “The family unit, government agencies, businesses, and private organizations are dominated, led, and run by women directly and indirectly.” She said. She also emphasized how women were figures of authority before the Spanish period but slowly, they were seen as less. However, she also mentioned that fortunately, gender roles are slowly starting to change here in the country.
After the Opening Remarks, Keynote Speech, and the Special messages, the panelists were introduced. The roundtable discussion included different panelists that discussed the film itself as well as their own experiences as a woman. The panelists included Ambassador Michèle Boccoz, Liza Diño, Pau Villanueva, and Lyka Gonzalez. The panel was moderated by Antoinette Taus, founder of CORA. The moderator and panelists discussed their challenges in their gender and different aspects of their lives. Also, the discussion revolved on their thoughts about the short film and what they thought was applicable in their experiences.
The event ended with a closing speech from SPARK!’s very own Executive Director, Maica Teves. “SPARK Philippines believes that gender issues are intersectional. We should not look at inequality only from the economic point-of-view, or from politics. Gender inequalities are embedded in our culture and practices. We need more women who can see and who can speak up and tell their stories. women need not always be in the sidelines. We should push to enlarge space where women could be anywhere. Women’s voices need not be scattered and barely heard. We should hear it from the writings, from the trees and the mountains, from the scarves and crowns that they wear. The best way to amplify women’s voices is to listen to them.” she said