A Baybayin movie is coming soon. Not my documentary, but a real MOVIE by Auraeus Solito who’s known around the world for his films such as Busong and my favorite, The Blossoming of Maximo Oliveros.

From what I’ve heard, the plot of the story is about 2 sisters (Assunta and Alessandra de Rossi – schwing) in love with a mute man. How will they communicate? Baybayin of course!

This film comes at an interesting time, not based on the resurgence of Baybayin in general but for Palawan culture stepping up and taking the international spotlight. There was the campaign of “It’s more fun in the Philippines” featuring the breathtaking promotion photos and in the San Francisco (USA) area there was a dance project called Tagabanua headed by Jay Loyola.

During my last filming trip to the Philippines, I visited the National Museum where I saw the Palawan script on bamboo from Brook’s Point. I found a book Letters from Palawan by Criselda Yabes about her 1st hand experience searching for the last few people that write the script.

In the Baybayin community, there’s a concern about the preservation of the script there because of the lack of advocates from Palawan. With this film and other cultural events, perhaps one of the artists can spearhead something in Palawan like the Mangyan Heritage Center in Mindoro and Mike Pangilingan for Kulitan from Pampanga.

Can’t wait to see it and I know it will push the Baybayin movement further. Please support this project.