2014 MVA Thesis Projects 

Making Belief Visible is a visual ethnographic account of a Filipino-American filmmaker’s journey back to his father’s hometown in the Philippines to learn about the town’s local ritual and now global tourist attraction—the Santo Niño Ati-Atihan Festival.  The religious festival has evolved since its origins in the 1200’s and has been referred to as the Philippines’ Mardi Gras and Carnival.  Making Belief Visible deconstructs the phenomenon through the filmmaker’s participation in the event and interviews with locals about the practices, histories, cultural performances, perspectives, sensibilities, and tensions that embody the festival’s yearly enactment.

 

Running time: 26 minutes