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BUTUAN CITY (MindaNews/29 September) – An indie film on Butuan and by Butuanons has finally come out of the works.
Written and directed by Maria Victoria Beltran, “Gidagit” (Kidnapped) is entirely in Butuanon dialect. Shot in Tungao, a riverside barangay, the 20-minute movie tells the story of a young girl who disappeared mysteriously.
“Finally, a Butuanon movie we can call our own,” enthused Rema Erigbuagas Burdeos, chair of the Butuan Tourism Council.
Gidagit’s cast and crew are all Butuanons who earlier took a crash course on independent film-making lead by Beltran, a recognized indie filmmaker from Cebu with Butuanon roots.
“We hope this venture will spark indie-filmmaking interest in the city as filmmaking covers all fields of arts and we have many varied artists capable of coming up with sensible Butuanon stories,” said Burdeos who also heads the private sector-initiated Butuanon Films.
Interestingly, one of the movie’s actors is Mayor Ferdinand Amante Jr. who plays a doctor. Amante is a doctor by profession whose interest is in music.
Gidagit is slated to be shown in schools and public gatherings as well as independent film festivals in Manila and other regions starting October. (Ramon Jorge Sarabosing/MindaNews)