Kasamas of revolution

Press, 22 July 1989, Page 21

Kasamas of revolution

Secrecy was the catchcry for the making of a documentary about life among the insurgency guerrillas in the Philippines. DAVID ROBIE reports on the result of filmmaking co-operation between Filipinos and ——————New Zealanders.

For most Filipinos, the word “kasama” means friend, companion or colleague. But for many, it has taken on a more clandestine meaning during the last 20 years. To those who have turned to armed struggle to achieve their ideal of a “truly free and democratic” society, kasama now means brother, a comrade in arms or fellow revolutionary. Someone they would gladly die for.

The inside story of the kasamas — a struggle since 1969 against first the corrupt and repressive Marcos regime, until its collapse in 1986, and now the arguably more democratic Aquino Government — has rarely been told.

Sometimes journalists with the right contacts (more than 100 mainstream Filipino reporters and photographers are reputedly "accredited” with the commun-ist-led New People’s Army) slip into rural hideouts in insurgency zones and give a glimpse of guerrilla life. A few books have been produced, too, notably “Kasama,” by Filipino photojournalists Alex Baluyut and Lenny Limjoco, and American foreign correspondent William Chapman’s “Inside the Philippine Revolution.” The difficulty of secretly filming the insurgency has in the past prevented any major documentary being made. Now a group of Filipinos and New Zealanders has produced a rare and moving portrayal of life among Filipino guerrillas. “Kasama” is an attempt to show the human side of that kind of war.

The film-makers, not identified in any of the publicity material, describe the 90-minute documentary as the first film to “show from the inside the methods and daily operations” of the New People’s Army.

Some of the film-makers were kasamas themselves, both men and women. But it is widely known among the New Zealand film industry that innovative Wellington director Rod Prosser, aged 36, and now in West Germany working on a feature film, was the inspiration: and driving force behind the documentary.

He has been reluctant to take any credit, or even be publicly identified, because he believes the group of kasamas involved should take all the kudos. In fact, the only credit given in the actual film is for editor Russell Campbell. He is a partner of Vanguard Films, a Well-ington-based specialist in social issue and political documentaries.

Among Prosser’s previous credits for "people’s films” are co-production and direction roles in “Our Nuclear Defence” (1976, about the nuclear ships protests), “Century of Struggle” (1981, a history of the Seamen’s Union), “Wildcat” (1981), and the award-

winning “Islands of the Empire” (1984, blocked from being screened by TVNZ).

“Kasama” was shot over a year, following the overthrow of Marcos, in the countryside and small villages of Bicol, an N.P.A. stronghold in southern Luzon Island. It is based on a series of incidents revealing the day-to-day work of the guerrilla army and its close relationship with peasant villages. Among the more poignant scenes are the marriage ceremony of two kasamas, N.P.A. mediators solving a dispute over a stolen animal, a confrontation between peasant farmers and their landlord, and a dramatic battle scene between an N.P.A. guerrilla unit and the vigilante force of a local warlord.

The kasamas tell their story as the film unfolds. There is no background narrator. N.P.A. guerrillas, their friends and their enemies talk about their experiences and their attitudes in their own language, Tagalog. Although this “unfiltered” approach gives authenticity and integrity to the film, sometimes sequences become disjointed and are difficult to follow. Another problem, at times, is knowing when the film switches from spontaneous “on. the hop” events to sequences set up for the camera.

“The film is a remarkable opportunity for the Filipinos to speak their minds,” says Russell Campbell. “It visually documents how their activities, their daily lives and the fighting are all integrated into the social infrastructure; how the farmers and the N.P.A. units work together. “Rod’s ambition was to keep in the background as. much as possible. He didn’t want a Westernstyle reporter getting in the way — he wanted direct communication for the people.” Long periods with N.P.A. units meant difficulties with repairs and maintenance for the 16mm equipment. When the camera batteries failed, for example, film-makers were forced to lug motor-cycle batteries across the mountains.

. During the editing, four Filipino film-makers came to New Zealand to help put the documentary together.

Ironically, the most powerful sequence shot for “Kasama” was left on the cutting room floor. During the Mendiola Bridge massacre on January 22, 1987 (19 protesting peasant farmers were killed by troops), one of the film-makers was hit in the shoulder and another bullet grazed his skull.

Dramatic as the footage was, Prosser thought the events in Manila were too remote and too much of a distraction from the peasant struggle in Bicol. The scenes were dropped and the voice of the kasamas remained unfiltered.