Rafael Bitanga-Lee
My work:
Annako: More Than a Daycare Story
Creator: Rafael Bitanga-Lee
"Annako (my child)" - the tender way my mom calls each child in her care - represents something deeper than running a daycare. At 14 years old, my mom became a mother figure to her three younger siblings after losing her mother. Through making this film, I discovered that my mother's daycare is beyond a business - it's the culmination of a lifetime spent mothering others, starting with her siblings in the Philippines, then her own children, and extending to every child who enters her care. Her story shows how circumstances can shape us into who we need to become.
Magsayawan (Dance) Ketchikan
Creator: Rafael Bitanga-Lee
You might know this familiar story - immigrants arrive full of hope, build a thriving community, and then watch their kids drift away from the old ways. Magasayawan Ketchikan explores how the Filipino community in Ketchikan was established, thrived with cultural programs, and then declined. It highlights current efforts to revitalize Filipino cultural traditions, especially traditional dance, and pass them to younger generations to recreate the cultural pride, belonging, and connection that once brought the community together. This goes beyond one culture; it is the immigrant's struggle to maintain identity in a new home, played out on the Alaskan frontier.