Learning history can be fun and exciting. It does not have to be drab even if it involves memorization of important names, places, dates, and events that happened in the past. It has to be engaging because history is about real events and the daunting challenge is how to relate and make them still relevant to the present and the future.
The annual DokyuBata Festival of the National Council for Children’s Television (NCCT) aims to raise awareness of the importance of child-friendly television content and to produce high-quality programs such as video documentaries for children, youth, and professionals. There were 107 entries nationwide that joined the 2023 DokyuBata Festival in its three divisions (Children, Young Adult, and Adult). Musikwela Kids TV, headed by Ellen Estrada, won the Adult Division with its documentary titled “Ang Bayani at Ang Kanyang Sandok.”
The video documentary tells the life story of Maria Orosa, her selfless sacrifices, and her contributions to our country. She was a scientist, a nutritionist, a food chemist, and a war hero. The documentary won the major award (Best Documentary) and the special award (Most Child-Friendly Documentary) both in the Adult Division during the awarding ceremony held in November last year.
Ellen shared, “I learned about the DokyuBata of the NCCT two years ago. The Musikwela Kids TV documentary about Maria Orosa and her works is a testament to our culture. She is a cultural food icon as the inventor of banana ketchup.
Her life story is woven into our history because her food inventions, soyalac and darak biscuits, saved the lives of starving Filipinos and Americans who were imprisoned in the UST Internment Camp during the Japanese occupation. Maria devised a plan to smuggle these nutrient-rich foods into the camp by hiring carpenters and putting them inside large bamboo poles. This selfless act showed her love for our country. A simple Filipina who used her skills, talents, and knowledge and shared them with her fellowmen, made a difference in the lives of the people she saved and in our nation.”
Did you know that Maria Orosa created the palayok oven which is commonly used in the province? She also made two varieties of ketchup: one from saba banana and the other from roselle, a hibiscus flower.
Ellen is the creative director and head of Ideasquest, Inc., an advertising boutique agency and animation studio. Musikwela Kids TV is an online children’s show on YouTube that promotes Filipino values, culture, and love for the Philippines.
Ellen was a junior member of PETA back in her early 20s and a scholar of the Actor’s Workshop Foundation (AWF) under the mentorship of Leo Martinez, Gina Alajar, Toby Alejar, and Anne Villegas.
She is a proud mom to her only child, Yumi, a multi-medalist in the 2019 WCOPA (World Championship of Performing Arts) and the host/narrator of the Maria Orosa documentary.
Ellen said, “I believe that if we share inspiring stories like Maria Orosa with young Filipino children, we are planting seeds of love for our country in their hearts. Her story is so inspiring that it needs to be told and taught to Filipino children because they can learn a lot of valuable lessons from her life story such as the values of patriotism, resourcefulness, and bravery. These seeds can grow into hope for a better nation in the future. Maria was a war hero who used her knowledge and skills in food technology. We can help encourage children that they can also make a positive difference by using their talent.”
The documentary used puppetry and animation for flashbacks and reenactments, as well as music to emphasize its message. Ellen explained, “Since we are doing a historical documentary, it will not be sufficient if we only use old photos and interviews to support the story. It should also be visually entertaining since my end audience will be children and their guardians or educators, so I know there should be flashbacks or reenactment scenes. I thought of creating the Maria Orosa puppet for flashbacks and other visual support because it will be more cost-efficient for us to have a puppet on a green screen and animate it instead of shooting on location with live actors for flashbacks. I was into puppetry-making before I started the documentary because I was already making puppets for Musikwela Kids TV episodes.”
“Ang Bayani at Ang Kanyang Sandok” is Ellen’s first documentary film. She has made corporate AVPs and a TVC, and wrote the Laos Tourism film titled “Finally Found Love, Finally Found Laos,” which was recognized as Fourth Best Tourism Film in the World at the Second Baku International Tourism Festival in Azerbaijan and the 2014 Zagreb Tour Film Festival in Croatia.
Like any production work, making the video documentary also had its fair share of challenges which Ellen and her team successfully overcame. She shared that during post-production, the hard drive of all the edited videos and the raw footage of what they took was corrupted. Fortunately, they had a backup for all the files.
“I am grateful to my team. We are only a small team of five but we were able to accomplish so much because we know our part in the team and we treat each other as family. But the most important thing is that each member of the team believed that we were telling a good story.”
The documentary team is composed of Ellen as the writer, composer, puppet creator, and director; Yumi Sansano as the host and singer; Oliver Bongosia and Jamie Cristobal as the puppeteers and singers; and Hartzel Manuel as cinematographer, editor, and animator.
When asked how she defines success, Ellen answered, “Success is such a big word for me. For others, it’s about achieving a dream and a goal. But for me, if what I create whether it is a song, a stage play, or a film like this documentary can touch even a single life and make a difference — then that’s success.”
“Ang Bayani at Ang Kanyang Sandok” can be viewed on the Musikwela Kids TV YouTube Channel and the National Council for Children’s TV FB page.