Melanya Liwanag Aguila

female
Born
1971
Lives in
Toronto , ON
Canada
,
Ontario CA
Biography

Cultural activist, videomaker. OCAD-trained and Toronto-based Aguila has made half a dozen short videos and one hour-long work since 1993, all exploring the political realities of the Pinay (Filipino/a) diaspora and homeland struggles, often intersecting with feminist and lesbian identity points of view, ranging in formats from documentary to didactic narrative. Kislap ng Pera (The Glitter of Money) (2003, 7) features a late-night couple in conflict in their conjugal bed. Issues of colonization, assimilation and acceptance of difference problematize the romanticism of the scene, but clasped hands give clues to positive resolutions. Aguila produced, directed, edited and wrote her work, and collaborated as camera with other community activist projects in both the US and Canada.