Documentary makers of “I-Witness,” Howie Severino and Atom Araullo, are set to share a compilation of their observations from numerous years of coverage through a series of photo exhibitions at various SM malls. The inaugural installment opens on August 21 at SM Santa Rosa in Laguna. These exhibitions are a collaborative endeavor between I-Witness and SM Malls.
Dubbed as “Unveiled,” the exhibitions will showcase images captured during Atom and Howie’s endeavors in producing “I-Witness” stories, ranging from a non-violent approach to the drug war to shedding light on the plight of Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh. Their journeys have led them to distant and secluded locations, including an island that has lost all of its land, where they documented the poignant stories of individuals yearning to be heard.
In one episode, the documentarist became the story, as Howie was among the country’s first Covid survivors. His documentary, “Ako si Patient 2828,” was one of the most watched Philippine documentaries on YouTube in recent memory, and won Best Documentary in the Gawad Tanglaw Awards in 2020. Just before he got sick, Severino was an evacuee from the Taal Volcano eruption of 2020. He lives on the shores of Taal Lake. That experience is also part of the exhibit.
“Unmasked” remembers a world just before the pandemic shut it down and celebrates a return to interactions where faces are visible once again.
Atom will share photographs taken during his travels and documentary-making in the Philippines and abroad. Some of these include his trip to Bangladesh for his first documentary for I-Witness, “Silang Kinalimutan.” The documentary showed the story of Rohingya refugees who fled to neighboring Bangladesh after the Myanmar government denied them citizenship. It won a Gold Medal in the 2018 U.S. International Film & Video Festival for Documentary: Social Issues category.
“This exhibit is a chance for us to share our work in the real world, away from screens, and interact with real people and not just names online,” says Howie, who will be at the SM Sta. Rosa opening with Atom.
Atom reflects, “I’ve always been fascinated by the power of still images in telling a story.
By bringing our photographs to a larger audience through this exhibit, we can keep the discussion going, and perhaps inspire other storytellers out there.”
Atom co-anchors GTV’s flagship news broadcast, “State of the Nation,” alongside Maki Pulido. He is also a frequent guest anchor for GMA’s “24 Oras” and takes the lead in the bi-monthly program “The Atom Araullo Specials.”
