Carolino’s ‘Bunso’ a hit in Amsterdam festival 
By Rica Arevalo
Inquirer News Service
In the documentary, we meet Tony, 13, Diosel, 11 and Tisoy aka Bunso, 11. They are detained in a jail for adult criminals in the Visayas. “Bunso” is a nickname for youth offenders inside the prison.
Carolino is in her element as she stays in the background, documenting real-life prison life and letting her subjects do the talking. Her cinema verite style makes us see her subjects behaving in the most genuine way, despite the presence of her camera.
Streetchild
Tony has as alcoholic, pregnant mother and abusive, violent father. He is an alleged drug courier who stole money from rich Chinese rice traders. Diosel is a streetchild who used to hang out in malls. He sang the Jubilee song at intersections to get tips from passersby, and sometimes worked as a watch-your-car boy.
He stole P40 and three cans of sardines because he was hungry. The owner was not to press charges, but Diosel’s father insisted that he stay in jail.
Tisoy is the youngest and funniest of all. He counts the many Fridays promised him until he can be a free “man.” He even has a dramatic moment with his mother, complaining about why he was not visited on his birthday. But, his mother keeps telling him that he’s “possessed” by the devil.
SRO crowds
“Bunso” had its world premiere at the recently conducted International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA), where Carolino also sat in the jury for the First Appearance program. All three screenings had Standing Room Only (SRO) crowds, making “Bunso” one of the documentary festival’s most popular and acclaimed films.
If there is a drive to revitalize the Visayan Cinema, “Bunso” should be counted in because the dialogue throughout the 62-minute documentary is in the Visayan dialect.
This documentary should ignite anger, frustration and, hopefully, action on the part of viewers who want to help all the bunsos in our jails. Every government official should see this documentary to see how badly our prisons are run.
This is an advocacy film about juvenile justice. For Carolino to make her films, she has had to work with NGOs like the Consuelo Foundation and Unicef. Good thing, there are groups that support her vision. Let’s hope Philippine TV networks air this documentary soon! [End]
Fr. Shay Cullen is a Columban missionary: PREDA Centre, Kalaklan, Olongapo City. www.preda.org
