Thesis (BA Communication Arts) -- University of the Philippines Mindanao, 2018

Documentary cinema, since its conception, has been used for the purpose of depicting the realistic world through film. It is a representation of the world we already occupy (Nichols, 2001). However, racial and economic power relations tend to distort this reality in favor for the privileged, which affects the representation across cultures in cinema. This study used documentary cinema against the trivialization of culture under the dominant gaze by combining participative and observational approaches in documentary filmmaking on fleshing out a narrative from the researcher?s own locality: the Tboli People of Tuhitum Village, Lake Sebu, South Cotabato. After months of in-depth interviews, immersion, and filming with the help of the community, this research production has come up with ?Hemku kem Genfun? (The Heir), a narrative about an ordinary Tboli woman recounting a glorious past: her experiences being a ?Bo?i? (Princess). The project manifested the resistance of exoticism and othering through its frames, angles, and sound. More importantly, the researcher posited herself with the role of being both a participant and an observer in the process. In conclusion, its main purpose is not only to communicate the message, but also to spark discourse on the current situation of the Tboli heritage, as reflected in the narrative. This documentary tries to emancipate that cinema has long transcended from being ?a mirror of reality?. Cinema is reality itself.