Lakambini explained

By: Justino Romea, Leo Udtohan, Pete Lacaba, Michael Tan, Bob Ong, Cecilio Putong

Connects Oryang aka Gregoria de Jesus’s fight for the revolution to the present-day struggle to tell her life story, to suppress the roles of women in history Consider the irony: one of the reasons for Lakambini’s 2015 MMFF rejection was the script’s lack of battle scenes. The film uses this incident to show that the system keeps trying to silence her memory and female-centric narratives by demanding male-coded action. It’s a potent critique of an environment that tries to suppress feminine figures The film points at the betrayals, abuses & conspiracies of some corrupt leadership w/c is perpetuated by the propensity of several politicians to do the same in the present system, as shown in the political machinations of Aguinaldo’s faction at Tejeros, when they connived to remove Bonifacio by voting against him

Julio Nakpil saved Lakambini; his life is presented here to redeem her in a film project w/c his family partially funded/annotated

Lakambini

1. Highlights her heroism

• Gregoria de Jesús (Oriang or the Lakambini ng Katipunan),
• • Andres Bonifacio’s wife
• • Her story has been relegated to primarily as his widow.
• • It corrects this by presenting her as a courageous revolutionary, the keeper of Katipunan’s files & secrets,
• • A national hero in her own right.

2. Feminist Lens

• • It shows her heroism, that the revolution was also fought by women like Gregoria de Jesús
• • She endured great loss & betrayal too, like the men in Bonifacio’s faction
• • It’s a tribute to the women like her who led & fought in silence.

 3. Meta-Docu-Fiction Format

• The film blends dramatic history w/archival material, interviews & contemporary commentary
• • It includes story of the producers’ struggle to finish the film after 10 years delay.

4. Themes of Resilience & Justice

• The narrative highlights Oriang’s endurance, loyalty to truth & ability to find hope & love again (after Bonifacio’s death, she married Julio Nakpil).
• • It confronts uncomfortable aspects of the past, such as the political betrayal & injustices she faced & connects to unresolved issues in history.

5. The stars

• Lovi Poe (as the youthful Oriang)
• • Elora Españo (as Oriang in midlife),
• • Gina Pareño (as the elder Oriang)
• • Rocco Nacino as Andrés Bonifacio
• • Paulo Avelino as Emilio Jacinto