The 6-part 2D animated YouTube series highlights different aspects of why the Filipino people should be proud of their heritage and ancestral homeland, the archipelago discovered by sea-faring Austronesians over 4,000 years ago; its natural beauty feeds the people’s positivity, generosity and sense of hospitality.
Learning about the history of a people isn’t always the most exciting thing, especially when taught through a word-heavy textbook. But, if you give those words life, history can be interesting and, dare we say, fun.
That was the mindset of Filipino American Tony Olaes when he came up with The Filipino Story.
“I didn’t really listen in history class, but this project really matters to me” admits Levon Viloria, an illustrator on The Filipino Story, a 6-part 2D animated series available to watch on YouTube that tells the history and culture of the Philippines. “I’ll remember the things I learned working on these episodes throughout my life. They have a special place in my heart and changed the way I view my home.”
Three episodes of The Filipino Story have been released so far, each roughly 5-6 minutes. They highlight different aspects of why Filipino people should be proud of where they come from. The first episode dives into the advanced sailing technology of the sea-faring Austronesians who later discovered the archipelago that would be called the Philippines. Episode 2 unpacks how the natural beauty of the Philippines feeds the positivity, generosity and hospitality of Filipino people. Episode 3 addresses past and present lifestyles of Filipinos and how those relate to the massive, celebratory family gatherings seen in the community today. Episodes 4, 5 and 6 will release closer to the end of the year.
“We believe stories can change people’s lives,” shares Bani Logroño, writer, director and animator of The Filipino Story. “Stories can turn hopelessness into hope and change a nation’s future. Over the years, the Philippines has been shaped by stories. José Rizal, our national hero, or ‘pambansang bayani’ as we say in the Philippines, is a novelist, poet and playwright. With this project, through the power of art, we want to awaken the next generation of bayanis in our country and reclaim the greatness of our people.”
After executive producer Olaes took his first trip back to the Philippines in 2006, he felt a need to create something that could be used to help Filipino Americans get in touch with their roots. But the actual idea of an animated series didn't form until Olaes became inspired by The Bible Project on YouTube and later discussed with his writer friend, Alex Lacson, about wanting to create something similar surrounding Filipino history. In 2020, Logroño and his wife Mai, a producer on the project, came on board.
“Tony didn’t have any interest in his heritage until he took that trip in his 40s and realized he shared this deep connection with people who were complete strangers to him,” notes Logroño. “Tony connected with a Filipino historian and professor Xiao Chua, who I was working with on World War II documentaries. When Tony asked him who would be a good filmmaker to create this animated series, Professor Xiao recommended me. Having grown up as a Filipino American as well, I was immediately interested in the project and its mission to reach a younger generation.”
The Filipino Story is the flagship program of The Filipino School doing business as The Filipino Story Studio, a registered non-profit co-founded by Olaes and Estela Matriano in San Diego, California. The animated series is the studio’s main production; the team is small, with just three illustrators – Viloria, Glend Lumbao and backgrounds illustrator Jaylor Malnegro – for the project while Logroño serves as sole animator. Glenda Genio serves as executive director.
“We had a separate animator initially, but he got too busy to continue, so I had to teach myself,” says Logroño. Animation is not my usual craft, so it’s been a tedious process.”
Primarily utilizing the pivot and rotation tools in After Effects on the illustrations, Logroño notes that while the animation takes time, it’s worth it.
“The art style, which we all helped create with Tony, is very Filipino with vibrant reds, blues and oranges and shape language that’s reminiscent of what you’d see on traditional baskets and pottery.”
The character designs also reflect Filipino wood carvings and share a notable unifying trait.
“All of the characters in our episodes have a style of eye where you cannot see the iris,” explains Viloria. “We wanted a way to show that we are all one people. The eye is the window to the soul, and we all share that soul.”
Professor Xiao is the team’s main historical consultant, with further support and consultation coming from experts like Professor Felipe De Leon, Jr., chairman of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts, as well as Professor Beth De Castro, a retired Professor of Psychology at the University of the Philippines. The team also consulted about the project with National Artist for Film Kidlat Tahimik and his wife Katrin De Guia, who wrote the book “Kapwa: The Self in the Other,” focused on the worldviews and lifestyles of Filipino culture-bearers.
But even with all the cultural and historical support, Logroño shares it was still a daunting task deciding what aspects of the culture to include in the six episodes. And condensing these topics into digestible ideas for children ages eight to 12, their target audience, was even more difficult.
“It was a lot,” says the director and animator. “There is a lot to our history and these cultural concepts are complex. But that’s why we chose to create this as an animation. This medium has a knack for clarifying complicated ideas.”
“I was born and raised Filipino and have lived in this country for 25 years,” adds Viloria. “I’ve seen the goodness and the badness of this place, and I’ve grown up comparing the poorness of this country when it comes to government and quality of living with the Western countries.”
Natural disasters have exacerbated poverty in the Philippines and, though The World Bank’s report “Overcoming Poverty and Inequality in the Philippines” reported that poverty in the country has been on the decline from 49.2 percent in 1985 to 16.7 percent in 2018, the document also noted The COVID-19 pandemic halted economic growth momentum in 2020, and unemployment shot up. In 2021, poverty rose to 18.1 percent despite large government assistance and over 2 million people in the Philippines were pushed into poverty.
Viloria continues, “But this project has made me realize that, while many Filipinos go abroad in search of a better life, I want to stay and support this country and have more hope. It’s one of the greatest places in the world and I didn’t see that until I started working on this series.”
To help bring focus to each episode, the crew also chose to hone in on three of the core values of Filipino culture: Bayanihan (togetherness), Kapwa (equality), and Kabutihang-Loob (kindness). These three values served as guiding stars for each episode’s narrative and are the defining aspects of Filipino culture in the series.
“There are plenty more,” says Logroño, referring to the many values of Filipino culture. “But three seemed like a nice complete number.”
In the second episode, after showcasing the country’s famous tropical landmarks, the narrator explains that, in the Philippines, which harbors 170 native languages, the word “Bayan” means both “Country” and “Community” as well as “Our people.” The narrator goes on to say how Filipinos are a reflection of their country and, just as the collision of tectonic plates formed the country, the Filipino people are a collision of ethnicities, religion and beliefs united by shared values, culture and history.
“Having grown up as a Filipino American very confused on where I stood a whole ocean away from my heritage, it was interesting learning about how our ancestors sailed to across oceans regardless of how far away the destination was,” says Logroño. “They cut through distances with so much determination and it shows me there shouldn’t be a separation between Filipinos living in America and those living in the Philippines, even if they are on the other side of the world. Our people are still sailing and live all over the world. We are a scattered people, but we are still one. I hope this series helps other Filipinos realize that as well.”
In addition to The Filipino Story, the studio is working on a reality travel show called Filgrimage. Season One is on Prime Video, created with ABS-CBN, a production company in the Philippines. Season Two was filmed last year in July, directed by Logroño working under The Filipino Story Studio. Season Three was just shot last June, also by The Filipino Story Studio.
“That show goes hand in hand with this animated series, because we take Filipino Americans, who have never been to the Philippines and who know very little about being Filipino, around the country for 11 days, showing them how the poorest of the poor and the riches of the rich Filipinos live similarly, despite their financial situation, because they share theses core values that drive their lifestyle. It shows real-life evidence of what is being taught in the animated series.”
While it’s not set in stone, Logroño says Olaes has shared a desire to put out an Episode 7, 8 and 9 after The Filipino Story wraps its Episode 6, noting, “It depends on the demand. But if audiences want more, it’d be an exciting opportunity.”
Victoria Davis is a full-time, freelance journalist and part-time Otaku with an affinity for all things anime. She's reported on numerous stories from activist news to entertainment. Find more about her work at victoriadavisdepiction.com.
