This film seeks to explore unique cultural aspects of Chamorro indigenous values of feminine empowerment and authority – and how it has been preserved or diminished – as embodied in mothers and mothering, which allows an intergenerational understanding of Chamorro women and families’ experiences in a landscape that is increasingly changing.
The film consists of audio and video interviews of mothers in the local community of Guam. These original ten participants include Monique Baza, Jill Benavente, Ruth Flores, Teresita Flores, Lourdes Hongyee, Tricia Lizama, Christine Naputi, Amanda Santos, Mariquita Taitague, and Matilde Castro White. Five additional women were asked to participate in a roundtable panel discussion that was also video-recorded in the library at the Richard F. Taitano Micronesia Area Research Center. These mothers are active in Chamorro cultural studies and preservation and include Antonia Castro, Evelyn Flores, Laura Souder, Rlene Steffy, and Faye Untalan. Indigenous scholars who have done specific research related to Chamorro women and mothers have also been interviewed for this film, and they include Anne Hattori and Sharleen Santos-Bamba.
Leiana S. A. Naholowa'a (Director / Producer)
Brian Muna (Director of Photography / Editor)
Faye Untalan (Project Advisor)
Laura Souder (Project Advisor)
Carlene Okiyama (Project Consultant)
Mothering Guahan is a film that seeks to inspire discussion and dialogue of women’s influence in Chamorro families and communities in the Marianas and the diaspora.
This project is supported in part by a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, Guam Council on the Arts and Humanities Agency, a division of the department of Chamorro Affairs, Government of Guam and the Office of the Governor, and a grant from the Guam Humanities Council and the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Copyright © Mothering Guahan