Arjanmar Rebeta’s Filipino-Bicolano feature brings together Marietta “Pokwang” Subong, Jhong Hilario, Ramona Yusay, and homegrown talents in a story of grief, resistance, and cultural memory
NAGA CITY, Philippines, September 6, 2026 — The team behind the upcoming Filipino-Bikolano feature film Sayaw nin mga Salampati (Dance of the Pigeons) met with members of the media today at Tiger’s Café along Magsaysay Avenue, Naga City, following the completion of the production’s six-day first shooting leg in Cabusao and Libmanan, Camarines Sur.
The press conference brought together director Arjanmar H. Rebeta, the film’s production team, cast, crew, and members of the local media to discuss the experience of bringing the story to life in Bicol.
Cast members shared stories from the set and spoke about the lively and collaborative experience of filming alongside a largely Bicolano cast and crew. The discussion also touched on the film’s locations, production design, characters, and the story’s exploration of grief, disappearance, resistance, and the enduring strength of women and communities.
The Story Behind Sayaw Nin Mga Salampati
In the rural town of Sinibaan, scarecrows dressed in the last-worn clothes of the disappeared stand across the fields, bearing witness to lives taken and families still waiting.
Among those left behind is Maura, a folk dance instructor whose husband, Lando, is among the desaparecidos, the forcibly disappeared. Living with grief and the uncertainty of his return, she turns to the Pantomina, a traditional Bikol courtship dance inspired by the movements of doves.
What begins as a dance of love becomes an act of remembrance and resistance. Together with the women of Sinibaan, Maura carries their grief into the streets and fields, using movement to challenge a system that silences their voices and leaves their loved ones unaccounted for.
Inspired by the Negros 14, director Arjanmar Rebeta’s Sayaw nin mga Salampati is a dance musical about grief, collective courage, and the refusal to forget. Through Bikol’s folk songs and dances, the film hopes to pass a living cultural inheritance to younger generations, inviting them to carry forward both these traditions and the stories and struggles they hold.
The film stars Ramona Yusay as Maura, Jhong Hilario as Lando, Marietta “Pokwang” Subong as Gunda, alongside Bicolano performers including Mildred Estella, and Kyle Adrian Paga.
Reimagining Bicol’s Musical Inheritance
Dance-Music plays an essential role in the world of Sayaw nin mga Salampati. The film draws from the long-lived tradition of Bicolano Dance (Pantomina) and homegrown folk songs given choral arrangements by renowned Bicolano composer and arranger Ruben Federizon and recorded by the Philippine Madrigal Singers.
Among the Bikolano folk songs highlighted were Sarung Banggi (One Evening), Salampating Guminaro (The Little Pigeon That Has Grown Tame), and Kudot-kudotan (The Pinching Game). Lead stars Jhong Hilario and Ramona Yusay also performed the Pantomina, accompanied by the Naga College Foundation, Inc. Rondalla.
Through these songs, Rebeta hopes the film can contribute to preserving Bicol’s musical heritage and introducing it to younger audiences — not simply as music from the past, but as living expressions of Bicolano identity, memory, love, and struggle.
Production Seeks Support for Second Shooting Leg
Following the successful completion of its first shooting leg, the production is calling on individuals, businesses, cultural organizations, institutions, and fellow advocates of regional cinema to help complete the film’s second leg.
Support may be extended through financial contributions, sponsorships, institutional partnerships, or donated production resources and services.
The director and production team expressed their gratitude to the film’s sponsors, community partners, local supporters, the Bicolano film community, and Naga College Foundation for helping make the first leg possible.
Those interested in supporting the production, requesting media materials, or arranging interviews may contact the team through:
Facebook: facebook.com/TDOTPFilm
Email: tdotpfilm@gmail.com
