​Rituals: Ang Ritwal

An American import that holds a near-sacred place in Filipino culture, basketball has grown into a national obsession in the Philippines – reflecting its complex past and the waves of foreign influence embedded in its identity. On the streets of Manila, makeshift basketball hoops stand at every street corner, while NBA iconography competes for wall space with images of Catholic saints, a hangover of centuries of Spanish colonialism and the religious society that remains in its place.

Emerging from a 1970s housing shortage that led families to squat in its mausoleums, Manila North Cemetery has become home to hundreds of families – its local youths served by DIY basketball courts that sit between the tombs. In another corner of the city, the Taguig Tenement Court stands as Manila’s most famous improvised arena – occupying the central courtyard of a former multi-storey car park, converted into social housing, the narrow walkways that tower above the perimeter transforming into spectator terraces

Guided by a ghost story told by a group of boys from the cemetery, director Alex Tiernan feeds urban folklore into short film Ang Ritwal, capturing the collision of religion and basketball fandom seen in Manila’s slums. Shot over five days, the experimental documentary offers a window into the city’s contrasts, reinforcing the sense of ritual that connects sport and spirituality in the Filipino capital.

 Nowness RSS Leer más