Festival Note
Living in a remote corner of a Philippine island, Agustin
is a tribesman who loves to sing, but never had the opportunity to learn to read or write. When his boss cheats him out of his wages seemingly for the thousandth time, 40-year-old Agustin decides to enroll in grade 1. The children’s world is playful and simple, and a welcome respite from the world outside.
After graduating from the University of the Philippines with a degree in Film, Grace received a grant from the European Union as part of their project entitled “In Defense of Land and Life: Addressing Human Rights Concerns of Indigenous Peoples in Resource Conflict Areas” to produce a mid-length documentary film. As a follow up to this project, she immersed in the same community for more than eight years while producing the feature-length documentary film A is for Agustin.