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This film screening presents The Old Kiyyangan Story: Oral Histories and Archaeological Findings from the Old Kiyyangan Village, Ifugao, Philippines, an animation directed by Armando Burgos, with script by Stephen Acabado and Marlon Martin. The project is the result of a close collaboration between archaeologists and Ifugao descendant communities, blending oral history and archaeological research to highlight a crucial chapter of Philippine Indigenous history often absent from national narratives.

Through vivid storytelling, The Old Kiyyangan Story reveals how the shift to wet-rice cultivation in the 1600s enabled the Ifugao to consolidate social and political power—resisting Spanish colonization and preserving their mountain settlements. Following the screening, Stephen Acabado and Joshua David will discuss the film’s impact on understanding Indigenous resistance, heritage conservation, and the ongoing work of the Ifugao Archaeological Project.

Stephen B. Acabado is professor of anthropology and director of the UCLA Center for Southeast Asian Studies. He is recognized for his community-engaged work in the Philippines and has dedicated his career to the study of the Ifugao Rice Terraces, a site of significant historical and cultural importance designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Armando Burgos is a 3D animator and filmmaker based in Singapore. He directed and animated The Old Kiyyangan Story: Oral Histories and Archaeological Findings from the Old Kiyyangan Village, Ifugao, Philippines, an educational film developed in collaboration with the Ifugao Archaeological Project and descendant communities. His work brings together digital storytelling and cultural heritage, using animation to visualize Indigenous histories, oral traditions, and archaeological research. Through this project, Burgos contributed to innovative, community-engaged approaches to heritage education, highlighting the Ifugao’s adaptation to colonial pressures and the development of wet-rice cultivation as a form of resistance.

Joshua David is an MFA student at the UCLA School of Film, Theater, and Television.

Marlon Martin is chief operating officer of the Save the Ifugao Terraces Movement (SITMo), a community-based heritage conservation organization in the Philippines, and a dedicated advocate for cultural preservation and sustainable development. In 2012, he founded the Kiyyangan Weavers Association to conserve Ifugao weaving traditions while supporting the livelihoods of local farmer-weavers; this initiative has since evolved into Ifugao Nation, a social enterprise advancing heritage conservation. His work also includes establishing the Ifugao Indigenous Peoples Education Center and Community Heritage Galleries in Kiangan, Ifugao Province, which support community-based heritage education through a weaving center, ethnographic displays, and a specialized library on Ifugao culture. Martin collaborates with academic institutions and government agencies to research and document endangered traditions while promoting socially engaged enterprise development.

This program is presented in partnership with Ifugao Archaeological Project, Save the Ifugao Terraces Movement (SITMo), UCLA Center for Southeast Asian Studies, National Geographic Society, Whiting Foundation 

Photo courtesy of Paul Connor