BY LEANDER C. DOMINGO
A documentary film produced by an Ilocos Norte university mentor qualified as an official entry to the International Film Festival Manhattan (IFFM) virtual events in New York City.
Titled “Iyallatiw,” the Ilokano word for “to transfer,” the documentary film was produced by Melver Ritz Gomez, an instructor at the Mariano Marcos State University (MMSU) College of Arts and Sciences.
In his film, Gomez featured an old oral tradition on prayers for the dead.
“This documentary pictures an almost dying Ilokano tradition and the struggles of the manglualos (persons who offer prayers) in passing it to the future generations,” said Gomez who also works under Ylocostar Films.
He said the opportunity to document such tradition and seeing an Ilokano film in an international film festival are already a success for him, his team and for the community of manglualos.
Gomez’ entry to the IFFM is among the five documentaries and 36 films that will be showcased from May 28 to 30, according to Daniel Tapaoan Jr., MMSU assistant information officer. It is one of 10 Filipino films which made it to this year’s IFFM.
Also represented in the competition are filmmakers from the United States, Russia, France, Canada, United Kingdom and China, among others.
Besides the IFFM, Tapaoan said the documentary was also selected for the IndieFEST Film Awards in California and the Diwa Filipino Film Showcase in Seattle, Washington in June.
Gomez has also produced in 2020 a film titled “Dagiti Tallo a Virgen” (The Three Virgins), which won the Top Foreign Film award in the Kolkata Online International Film Festival in India. The movie is about the dilemma of choosing between passion and career.
Tapaoan said the IFFM, which went digital due to the pandemic, is now in its 11th year offering a quality selection of world-class films in different genres from all over the world and gives 20 awards to winning entries annually.
The Manhattan-based IFFM in New York City is committed to showcasing entertaining and diverse films and exploring all opportunities to promote artists, their works, vision and causes during the festival.