HULING BALYAN NG BUHI

A tale about an inter-tribal war and the threat of extinction, hanging over the Buhi tribe and its over-protective Balyan (shaman), provides the backdrop for parallel tales about the changing landscape of southern Philippines. Beautifully shot and sparsely scored, 21-year old Sanchez's <i>The Woven Stories of the Other</i> is a masterful first attempt to tackle the history of colonialism and imperialism in his home country. Spoken entirely in Mindanao Bisaya and starring the local people, Sanchez's feature is a revelatory look at a culture in flux.