9-year-old mom headlines Cinemalaya’s ‘Nuwebe'

Stories like this make me throw up, grimace in pain for the suffering of these young girls. Yet I hear them everywhere, all the time. There have been a lot of stories, real ones from real people, some of them my own friends. How do you make sense of such reality? But then it is as it is. A reality. 

While fellow nine-year-olds were learning the Three Rs in school, Krista (not her real name) was conceiving a child somewhere in Mindanao. According to social workers, the baby of Krista, the youngest mother in Philippine history, is the product of one or two years of sexual abuse from the girl’s own father. 

Krista’s incest story inspired multimedia journalist and independent filmmaker Joseph Israel Laban to come up with a full-length film on the subject. 

"We had to be careful with the research part since she’s still a minor. There are sensitivities that we have to be acutely aware of,” Laban told Yahoo! Philippines OMG!. 

Krista’s compelling story skipped the snooping eyes of the media until Laban made a documentary on GMA News TV titled "Ang Pinakabata," which was also screened at last year's Cinemalaya. 

Despite her unimaginable struggle, Krista (played by Kapuso child star Barbara Miguel) is resilient and determined to overcome her trauma. 

“When I was doing it, unang-una grabe 'yung impact ng story kasi parang I've been doing documentaries for more than 10 years now for GMA and madalang 'yung stories na tatamaan ka talaga. And then noong in-interview ko siya during the research phase, na-realize ko ang strong niya.” 

“Surprisingly, she's strong. Kasi 'di ba, 'yung psychology ng abused, 'pag inexamine mo siya talagang maraming diseases 'yung naa-abuse. Pero sa kanya she's a fighter.” 

A ‘supernatural’ pregnancyWhile getting pregnant at nine is beyond belief, the reactions of  Krista’s parents and their community  were  even more upsetting.  

“The community at 'yung father (and even 'yung mother at one point) naniniwala na supernatural ang pregnancy, hindi sa father. Kasi may nuno sa punso na tumutubo nang tumutubo sa bahay nila,” the director explained. “So ang paniniwala ng nanay, nanuno at hindi pregnancy.” 

Starring Jake Cuenca and Nadine Samonte as Krista’s parents, “Nuwebe” is in competition in the coming 9th Cinemalaya Film Festival, which is scheduled from July 26 to August 4 at the Cultural Center of the Philippines and Ayala Cinemas in TriNoma, Greenbelt 3 and Alabang Town Center.