The Agno documentary brought home one of the major awards in the Rivers and Lakes category of the First Moonrise Film Festival held from August 18 to 21 in Metro Manila. Sixteen films covering various environmental and cultural issues competed in the said event. The video documentary was produced by the Cordillera Peoples Alliance (CPA) in 2003.

Agno was nominated in two minor categories – Best in Editing and Best Production Team.

The production of Agno was inspired by the struggle of the communities affected by the Philippine government’s flagship project, the San Roque Multi-Purpose Dam. It depicts the importance of the Agno River in the lives of communities living beside it. In moving images, the video documentary highlighted the people’s defense of their land, lives, resources and the future of their children.

Agno is a posthumous tribute to two leaders in the struggle, Lakay Pascual Pocding of Itogon, founding Chairperson of the Shalupirip Santahnay Indigenous Peoples Movement (SSIPM) and Ka Rodrigo Reyes of Nueva Ecija, former Chairperson of the Alyansa ng Magbubukid sa Gitnang Luzon (Peasant Alliance in Central Luzon).

Agno and the other films will form part of the environmental documentaries that will be toured in schools all over the Philippines beginning December 2005 to promote the plight of the environment. Moving Mountains was awarded the grand prize in the film festival.
Led by the Center for Environmental Awareness and Education (CEAE), the Moonrise Film Festival augments its vision of making environmental education available for all Filipinos.

The films present the vast array of environmental issues facing the country today. These include mining, fisheries, biodiversity, vanishing cultures, and other water related issues.
“The Moonrise Film Festival is an initial attempt to provide a venue for the public showing of documentary-format films focused on the Philippine environment and culture”, remarked Jukka Holopainen President of CEAE.

The event was sponsored by Ford Conservation and Environmental Grants, Foundation for Philippine Environment, Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources-Fisheries Resource Management Project (BFAR-FRMP), Gateway Mall, Unilever Philippines, GMA 7,Manila Bulletin, Discover Philippines, and Yehey.com. Audrey Mary Beltran