Center for Women's Resources/Philippines

Maria Villariba 

CWR came into being in January 1982 when women concerned with the struggles of peasant women, women workers, women in services and women from all other sectors of Philippine society initiated the following program as an answer to the pressing needs of women at this point in time:

• providing information on the situation of women in the Philippines
• developing educational modules for groups and institutions
• conducting research on women's issues
• training speakers and resource persons for women's concerns
• linking up women's groups in the country and building contacts with women in other countries
• supporting women's campaigns for equality and emancipation

With limited material resources available to achieve these goals, CWR has found audiovisuals to be a low cost and effective way to build awareness and stimulate communication and action.

Audiovisuals for Action

The Center for Women's Resources started with three women. Since there were few materials such as women's manuals/guides for building a women's movement in the Philippines, we decided to use slideshows for education and network building. These are tools that can open the stage for organizing and consciousness raising.

Two of us were recruited to form the slideshow team. One was a photographer who had learned to use the camera from experience and was interested in women. She used to work as a salesclerk and knew how to coach people to express themselves. The other one was a researcher who could document issues and write scripts. Neither of us had previous experience in making slideshows but we were willing to try to produce one with limited resources.

Learning from Experience

We learned the process and dynamics involved in slideshow making from experience.

First, we discussed the subject matter together: how are women oppressed in the Philippines? The outline of the script was formulated through research. One of us was in charge of photo-documentation, while the other one took care of data gathering.

The photographer then started taking photographs and used documents and pictures of events, publications and still photos to generate more material for the show. Usually a minimum of three rolls of film (72 shots) can provide the team with an idea of how the show will turn out.

The script was used for composing the show. An improvised composing table can be readily made from wooden planks, cardboard, and plastic sheets, etc. (see illustration). Both members of the team worked on the script. We tried to make sure that it was clear so that it could be a guide for the audio production.

The audio production began after the visual composition was finished. Rehearsal is necessary before taping if the talents are homegrown (not professional). Usually, a short story with two characters is manageable and does not need a lot of practice. A resource person in sound engineering (one who can mix the sounds and compose the audio show) is necessary. Radio stations have such persons and one can rent a booth for a small fee. We persuaded an audio person to work outside his hours, gave him a small honorarium and kept him abreast of the show's impact.

The show was then previewed (both visual and audio parts) and finally reproduced once there was a consensus among the members of the group.

How to Maximize Resources

In producing our slideshows, we found that we needed to take into consideration the following items:

1. Rolls of film for slides - at least three, at most six (if one has a small budget).
2. Laboratories for processing film. (Scout around for ones which charge low rates.)
3. Transportation and food for the team.
4. At least three cassettes for recording.
5. Honorarium for audio resource persons.
6. Sound booth rental fees.
7. Reproduction costs (minimum of three sets, always keeping the original while using the other two for the work).

Maximizing the Use of Slideshows

The Center for Women's Resources has been able to produce four slideshows in two years for a minimum of US$ 350 each. We use these shows for eye-openers. Organizers in both rural and urban areas bring the slideshows to communities for meetings. Since most of the pictures are about poor women who find a way to confront their problems, the audiovisuals are a tool for raising the consciousness of both women and men, even children. They can also be used for mobilizing people to work on specific issues, such as strikes of women in the textile industry, the anti-nuke campaign, and sexual discrimination.

To generate financial support, the slideshows can be sold or rented out to institutions, groups or individuals who find them useful in their work.

Slideshows Produced by CWR

• Half the Village Sky: an overview of women's problems
• Power to the Women in Us: a history of colonization and its effects on women
• Stand Tall and Straight: about women on strike
• Letter From Bataan: on anti-nuke campaign against the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant.

Zamani Soweto Sisters Council/South Africa

Our Story in Film: Painful, Useful, Truthful

In Soweto, South Africa, black women are organizing to build their own self-help groups in the face of an oppressive apartheid policy. The Zamani Soweto Sisters Council brings together six women's groups involved in training women, running cooperative businesses, and supporting each other in the difficulties they must daily struggle to overcome. The word "Zamani" means "make effort." Financial support is given by the Maggie Magaba Trust, set up by a white South African woman living in England, and run entirely by black South African women. Due to the regulations imposed by the South African government, the Maggie Magaba Trust itself has difficulties in fundraising.

Women from the Zamani Soweto Sisters Council have made two films: Awake From Mourning and Tsiamelo: A Place of Goodness. Awake From Mourning was their response to the violent police attack on a peaceful demonstration by black youth in Soweto against the policies of the South African government. The idea for the film came from the women's groups themselves and the women decided upon both the script and the images. It is a strong, positive film, showing women who refuse to be crushed.

The second film, Tsiamelo, was made by Ellen Kuzwayo, a 70 year old woman who has played a leading role in the work of the Zamani Sisters Council; her 84 year old aunt, Blanche; and Betty Wolpert, the founder of the Maggie Magaba Trust. The film's title is the name of Ellen Kuzwayo's family farm which was taken away from them in 1974 by South African legislation preventing black people from owning land in South Africa. A personal account of this dispossession, the film has been praised for both its high quality and its moving message which shows women with pride and dignity, in spite of the violations of their human rights.

Ellen Kuzwayo has also written a book, Call Me Woman, about her life and the efforts of black South African women to organize themselves and overcome oppression. It was published in 1985 by The Women's Press, England. The following excerpts from the book describe some of the results of the first film, Awake From Mourning.

The film, Awake From Mourning, was the effort of Elizabeth Wolpert, Maggie Magaba trustees (Magdeline Mokgata, Joyce Seroke, Sally Motlana, Ellen Kuzwayo the author of this book), and the Zamani Soweto Sisters Council members. At the beginning, the idea of a film seemed far-fetched and very remote from all of us in the Trust and in the Council. We planned and discussed it with Betty and finally accepted it as a very worthwhile project to work on. At that stage, it was nothing more than an idea in the air for some of us. However, there was no doubt that as black women in Soweto, becoming more and more visible as a group and with growing community responsibilities, we soon realised the importance of finding ways of generating funds for the Trust in particular, and for the Council. The film held great hopes for us at that level. The fact that the Maggie Magaba Trust had not been granted a fundraising certificate to appeal for and receive public funds made the need for the film more urgent.

Suffice to say, the release of this film, particularly after going through the Board of Censors, left all of us connected with its production with a deep sense of achievement. Its financial success has often brought home to us the pain of not being able to receive funds as a Trust because of the limitations of not holding a fundraising certificate, but we have not stopped appreciating the publicity it has generated about the work of the Trust and of the Council. Until we met Betty, the thought of making a film never crossed our minds. It has liberated us all the more as black women...

The film, Awake From Mourning, has been a true instrument of communication at many levels within and outside South Africa. Through it we have made contact with groups of other women we had never thought of. One classic example is Die Kaapse Vrouwe Klub, a white Afrikaans women's group operating in Cape Town. They requested to see our film and invited some of us to come and speak with them. It was a very painful experience for some members of that group, who felt challenged at different levels. However, at the end of the day, after sharing on some very delicate issues, we agreed that the film was useful and truthful; further, that we should keep our links as women from two different racial groups who need to work together so as to know one another with less prejudice and suspicion and, hopefully, to explore the possibilities of a better South Africa.

There is no end to the development and growth of black women of this country. The pressing need is for these women to come forward to be involved in this process.

In the name of Zamani Soweto Sisters Council and the Maggie Magaba Trust, I express our deep appreciation for the chain of sisterhood which is gradually growing and expanding in several countries. Your moral and physical support means much to us.

Reprinted with permission from The Women's Press Limited, 124 Shoreditch High Street, London E1 6JE, England.