FAHA Digital Media and island residents gathered at American Memorial Park’s indoor theater on Wednesday and Thursday for the September Harvest Film Showcase. The showcase featured numerous local films produced by the organization, including their Sinangan Saina Project.
Faha Digital Media’s website describes the organization as one “dedicated to storytelling by, for, and about the people of the Marianas.”
The Sinangan Saina project collected cultural proverbs, stories, and experiences of people from the CNMI. It asked them to reflect on their upbringing and the way of life they value in the Marianas. At the Wednesday screening, Faha Digital Media highlighted a Carolinian legend recounted by Saipan resident Kina Rangamar.
Daisy Demapan, the organization’s program officer, said Faha Digital Media wants to be a “storytelling hub” for the CNMI. The media company aims to build local capacity to write, produce, and film different media that celebrate Chamorro and Refaluwasch cultures. Sinangan Saina is one one of the projects initiated by the media company to support a center for cultural narratives.
“A lot of [our work] is to preserve and pass down these values, these stories, and these narratives from our own people and communities. That’s what Sinangan Saina is really about: passing down that knowledge, making it known, and making it more accessible for everyone in our community,” she said.
By the end of October, Demapan said, Faha Digital Media will be ready to showcase short films created by local storytellers to whom the organization has awarded funds.
Demapan added that the organization will spend the next few months creating other programs to help local storytellers produce short films or other digital media — such as podcasts and voiceovers — rooted in culture.
“The plan is to help people learn how to tell stories that reflect the values of the Refaluwasch and Chamorro communities; to understand the stories we’ve passed down, as well as new ones we haven’t told yet,” she said. “We’re still opening it up and figuring it out as a community — trying to find the best way to tell our stories.”
She acknowledged the Indigenous Affairs Office and the Carolinian Affairs Office for providing translation services, and credited NDN Collective, a grantmaking organization from the Oceti Sakowin Territory in the United States, for supporting their projects.
To view excerpts from Sinangan Saina, visit Faha Digital Media’s Instagram page (@fahadigitalmedia).
Faha Digital Media hosted the September Harvest Film Showcase last week to share local films about the Marianas.
Island residents joined Faha Digital Media for a film screening of projects undertaken by the cultural organization.
