"Ang Babae sa Likod ng Mambabatok" to be screened in Iloilo City this week

"Ang Babae sa Likod ng Mambabatok" finally gets an Iloilo screening this week, as it will be shown at the FDCP Cinematheque from January 13 up till January 18, 2015, with screenings scheduled 3:30 and 5:30 PM on the weekdays, and 1:30 and 3:30 PM on Saturday and Sunday. The FDCP Cinematheque is located at the B&C Square Bldg., Solis St., Iloilo City (near BPI Iznart, East West Bank Iznart, and Landbank Iznart). Admission is at P100. [hit the jump to continue]

This documentary film by Lauren Sevilla Faustino, is about a 92 year old woman named Fang-od (or Wang-od) who is considered to be the last of the traditional tattoo artists in the province of Kalinga.

Ang Babae sa Likod ng Mambabatok unravels the multiple layers of the almost mythological figure-living legend, Fang Od, who has been called the ‘Last [Traditional] Tattoo Artist of Kalinga.’ The first layer of the story is the one she is most famous for-being a tattoo artist. At her eyes, she continues to exhibit sharpness and precision in the very demanding art and skill of tattooing.

The second layer shows her many stories as woman who has reached the age of looking back. She regales us with stories of her many suitors, of her youth, the dancing and the feasts. She also looks back with not just a tinge of regret that she never married nor had children of her own. Her body covered in tattoos is a landscape on its own mirroring the map of a woman who has chosen wittingly or unwittingly a road diverging from convention and in the process became a culture-bearer.

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