Paradise Philippines

It came as a late announcement but we are happy to share that a Filipino-produced documentary won the silver award in this year’s United Nations Documentary Film Festival in Vera List Courtyard of The NewSchool, New York City.

“Burden of Gold,” a 16-minute video documentary on the plight of child miners in Camarines Norte received acclaim from the international jury as this year’s best “stories from the field” along with Gold winner “Invaders from the Sea,” produced by the International Maritime Organization.
“Burden of Gold” was shot in 2004 in Camarines Norte, Philippines where children in mining descend to the bowels of the earth to crawl through narrow, cramped, and poorly lit makeshift tunnels in search of gold to sell for a living. These children at such young age were exposed to working environment where the air is thick with dust. They constantly risk fatal accidents due to falling rock, explosions, collapse of mine walls,and the use of equipment designed for adults.

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The Sandugo Festival is a yearly historical event that takes place every year in the island province of Bohol. It is a month-long celebration distinctly and traditionally Boholano to give meaning to the local Philippines leader Datu Sikatuna's blood compact and association or treaty of friendship with the Spanish king conquistador, Captain General Miguel López de Legazpi in March 16, 1565.
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The Battle of Covadonga was the first major victory by a Christian military force in Iberia following the Muslim Moors' conquest of that region in 711. Taking place about a decade later, most likely in the summer of 722, the victory at Covadonga assured the survival of a Christian stronghold in northern Iberia, and today is regarded as the beginning of the Reconquista.
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