'Walang Masulingan': A pair of perspectives

In honor of National Arts Month, the Ateneo Art Gallery’s Moving Image Program premiered a two-day show of ‘Walang Masulingan’ — a compelling two-channel video installation by filmmakers Kiri Dalena and Ben Brix that redefines the visual language of the Filipino urban experience.

The installation’s title, coined by political activist Gelacio Guillermo, is a poetic fusion of the Tagalog words wala (nothing) and sulingan (refuge), creating a singular term that translates to having “nowhere to turn.” In the hands of Dalena and Brix, this concept serves as a symbol for a city that, for many, remains a site of deep uncertainty and hardship.

By utilizing a dual-projection format, the filmmakers juxtapose aerial and ground-level perspectives of Metro Manila, forcing the viewer to navigate the 'parallel worlds' that exist within the same geographic space. This 'extreme work' of the two-channel medium emphasizes the starkly different circumstances of people who may share a home or a city but live entirely different realities.

“This idea of people in the city who live in parallel worlds may not meet, but they may have very different circumstances, or within a family, also very different circumstances,” Kiri Dalena explained during the talkback session. “The daughter works very hard to go to school, the mother is being very late from work… we think that doing the extreme work emphasizes this kind of relationship.”

The project originated from the filmmakers’ realization that the stories they were capturing naturally existed in pairs. Ben Brix noted that the decision to move beyond a single-channel film felt organic to the subject matter. “We started filming and somehow realized that there was a parallel story that everything was always like a pair,” Brix shared. “Two people that somehow live together to speak.”

Through a mix of tight and wide shots, the film balances personal intimacy with the scale of the city. Techniques such as mirroring, split-screens, and kaleidoscope-like patterns allow for a visual comparison of the contrasts and similarities across different lives, making the multiple screens feel like a single, connected narrative. This fragmented but balanced view offers a deeper look at the complexities of the city. The layers of urban sound further deepen the scenes, grounding the portrayal of everyday survival. Ultimately, the work proves that even in the absence of a linear plot, powerful imagery can carry the weight of truth and represent the profound depth of the human condition.

Beyond the technicalities, the heart of ‘Walang Masulingan’ lies in its portrayal of survivors, specifically those affected by the 2016 war on drugs, such as Lourdes De Juan of Silingan Coffee. The film intentionally pushes against the stereotypical imagery of grief, opting instead to showcase the multi-dimensional lives of its subjects through their resilience and social solidarity.

As the program is held outdoors, guests are welcome to bring snacks and are encouraged to support the Silingan Coffee pop-up. Silingan Coffee is a community-led initiative and social enterprise that serves as a sanctuary and livelihood program for the families of victims of extrajudicial killings (EJK). Through this partnership, the project highlights how these spaces provide a safe place and a way to heal for those facing difficult times.