A short documentary about a musical group of children from Zambales bagged a Special Mention award in the recently concluded Kota Kinabalu International Film Festival in Malaysia.
“Maliliit na Hakbang” (Small Steps), directed by Richard Soriano Legaspi, tells the story of the You-Kalele Kids Zambales from the coastal village of San Felipe. The kids, whose plans to enter the music scene was cut short by the pandemic, struggle to keep their dreams alive amid their limitations and challenges.
“For these kids from the remote village in the coastal area of Zambales, music is their life and dreams. They are hoping to have a sustainable musical career in the future,” Legaspi shared.
The documentary’s title came from one of the group’s songs, which focuses on saving the environment and their love for nature. Last August, it also got a special citation from the 33rd Gawad CCP Para sa Alternatibong Pelikula at Video, which is considered the longest running film and video competition in Asia.
“While they have their own struggles, they continuously sing for the environment. In their young minds and hearts more than their dreams, they know that life in this world and the nature that surrounds us are equally important to have a sustainable life,” the award-winning filmmaker added.
Legaspi was part of the Asian Film Academy in Busan, South Korea in 2007. Since then, his films had been officially selected in different film festivals around the world. In 2013, he received the UNESCO Laureate scholarship and eventually became a resident artist of the Universití delle Idee in Italy.
This year, he completed two other short films — “Bakit Ako Sinusundan ng Buwan?” (Moon Under My Feet), one of the competitive grant winners of Sine Halaga, the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) Values Short Film Festival, and “Panulukan” (Crossroads), which is part of EngageMedia’s “Tech Tales: Films about Digital Rights in the Asia-Pacific.”
