As I have taken up a new challenge this year, Southeast Asian Video Festival for Children (SEAVFC), I was supposed to be attending our 4th edition kick-off meeting in Hanoi. I thought then that, although the destination country is not new to me, at least, Hanoi feels fresh to my experience. As serendipity has it, our Vietnamese contact updated our Secretariat in the Philippines in the last minute about some administrative complications. Our meeting was then decided to be moved to Manila, a few days before it happened early this month. As you can get it here, I may miss a new city, but I was led to a new country in my checklist: the Philippines! So follow me to find out about those many chances I discovered in that mega capital of Southeast Asia.
1- Introduction to Regional Experts
Here comes the best part of my trip to Manila. Not only did we discover the new theme for our current edition, but I was also introduced to another 9 National Directors, representing Brunei, Indonesia, Laos (online), Malaysia, Myanmar (online), the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. Helming our Regional Secretariat, Ms. ELVIRA YAP GO has pursued this mission since 2017 and allowed Cambodia to take the baton in 2019. After COVID19, she resumed the challenge to (re)form the new Committee, including me, as National Director in Cambodia. Moving forward, Malaysia will host the 4th SEAVFC, tentatively in Kuala Lumpur, this November, led by DATO MAHYIDIN MUSTAKIM.
2- Bonifacio Highs Street by Night
As dusk fell, I took my evening away to another city of Metropolitan Manila. I told my Filipino contact who introduced me to this upperclass global city that it feels like a little Times Square. This comparison works for you, if you have been to New York City! Anyhow, the hub did attract the teenage and young crowd to its vibrant night life. If you walk around for 15 minutes, you can indulge yourself in shopping here and there. My take was simply to buy a local franchise drink as my personal instantaneous souvenir! To get there, I would recommend you to use Grab or a meter taxi. Do ask the tax driver to put on the mileage to avoid unnecessary bargains!
3- Reunion with a Cambodian Contact
Maybe the new urban settings put me to insomnia so much that I spent my midnight scrolling on Facebook. Then, I realized I missed a few calls from a Cambodian contact. To seize the moment, I accepted his request to have supper as I had to leave the following morning and that he just finished his night shift! Another courtesy was that he was a benefactor to our omnibus series of Pram Ang. Little did I know the restaurant we ate at was located in a “hot” neighborhood. I’ll leave this searching homework to you! We spent half an hour chitchatting about our respective life updates, after 10 years of not seeing each other. Then, I learned that Cambodian executives like him have been offered the same chance to work on customer services as our Filipino locals for many years now.
As this trip was relatively short, I wish I could visit Manila or the Philippines another time. What intrigued me was the tales of the double faces of this evolving nation. Besides, I didn’t have the chance to visit my Filipino fellows from my years in Busan Asian Film School! Come what may, I could witness the growth of our “new” neighbors and their preparedness to advance to a wider globalization. Hope this advancement will benefit our children in some way or the other 😀