Ongoing till 9 May at the VS Theater of Victoria Sports Tower on Timog Avenue, Quezon City, is the first-ever FAMAS Short Films Festival. The venue is a stone’s throw away from the GMA 7 studios. The festival’s 27 entries in varying genres have been showing there since 3 May.

Filmmaker Donnie Sacueza has an entry, Mga Bayaning Ayta (Ayta Heroes), which he says is the first-ever Filipino video documentary that honors the sacrifices and valor of Ayta warriors and soldiers in the fight for the country’s liberation from Japanese invaders during World War 2 (WW2). Sacueza wrote, directed and produced Mga Bayaning Ayta, which was selected from 500 submissions.

He is an award-winning film and TV director who owns and runs DTS Creative Advertising and Productions. He considers Mga Bayaning Ayta his most significant film project since he devoted nearly two years to its completion, facing numerous challenges, including financial constraints and the lack of historical archives about the Aytas’ involvement in WW2. 

Sacueza had to be a one-man crew during the pre-production and principal photography, and fortunately received support from friends who are professional video editors and graphic artists for the post-production stage, thus enabling him to finalize the film.

Sacueza’s research revealed that even the national government lacked historical records on WW2 Ayta veterans. He is grateful to Rhonie de la Cruz, the founder and curator of Bamban Museum in Tarlac, for sharing his passion, invaluable knowledge and archival materials on the Aytas courageous involvement as Filipinos in WW2. 

De la Cruz is also the founder and president of the Bamban Historical Society. He is a grandson of WW2 veterans in Tarlac.

Mga Bayaning Ayta received support from the Film Development Council of the Philippines, the National Historical Commission of the Philippines, the National Commission for Culture and the Arts, the Bamban Historical Society, the Philippine Veterans Office (PVAO), and the Philippine Veterans Bank. 

The festival holds its awards night on 10 May at the Music Museum in Greenhills, San Juan. Mga Bayaning Ayta is nominated as Best Documentary.