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Treasure of the Rice Terraces film image; a line of people dancing in matching colourful costumes

Treasure of the Rice Terraces

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Filipino Canadian filmmaker Kent Donguines travels back to the Philippines to reconnect with his roots. In a nation with over 134,000 years of history and centuries of colonization — under Spanish, American, and Japanese rule — Donguines notes a shared feeling of weakened traditional identity among many Filipinos he knows and meets. A vital part of their heritage, the centuries-old practice of tattooing, was banned by colonizers and even shunned by Filipinos.

Donguines travels to Buscalan, a secluded mountain community, to discover more about the revival of Indigenous Kalinga tattoos. Guided by 107-year-old master artist Apo Whang-od, Donguines learns the deep history and symbolism behind the tattoos. The revival of this Indigenous body art tradition offers a powerful way to preserve culture, spark pride, and strengthen identity, and Treasure of the Rice Terraces shows how traditions can survive, evolve, and inspire both local communities and cultural identity worldwide.

 

Oct 5 & 6: Q&A

 

Presented by

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Supported by

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Media Partner

Global BC logo    CKNW logo          

Director
Featuring

Maria “Apo-Whang-Od” Oggay, Kent Donguines, Grace Palicas, Lars Krutak, Kim Atienza, Michelle Marquez Dee

Credits
Country of Origin

Canada/Philippines

Year

2025

Language

In English, Tagalog and Butbut with English subtitles

Film Contact
Links
Content Warning

Nudity

G

Open to youth!

75 min
BC Spotlight Documentary Family Relations
Moon7 Films, Aimer Films

Book Tickets

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Credits & Director

Executive Producer

Kent Donguines, Jacob Crawford, Lars Krutak

Producer

Jacob Crawford, Bailey Wood, Kent Donguines

Screenwriter

Kent Donguines

Cinematography

John Fleming

Editor

Elad Tzadok

Kent Donguines headshot

Kent Donguines

Kent Donguines is a Filipino Canadian filmmaker based in Vancouver. He is the CEO of Aimer Films Inc. and produced the award-winning CBC short documentary This Ink Runs Deep, which premiered at the 2019 Toronto International Film Festival. He also wrote, directed, and produced the Telus Storyhive short film Kalinga (2020), a documentary about the sacrifices Filipina nannies make to work in Canada. That film had its world premiere at the DOXA Documentary Film Festival and won the Kathleen Shannon Award from the Yorkton Film Festival. Donguines recently completed his first feature documentary, Canadian Adobo.

Filmography: Kalinga (2020); Brown Enough (2021); Paco (2022)

 

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