A ten-minute observational documentary on the reality that faces persons with disabilities in the Philippines won the Special Jury Award at the 22nd Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival.
Honored for its stark documentary storytelling and compelling portrait of disability, “Para-paraan” (Finding a Way Through) transforms routine, everyday errands into a striking critique of forced adaptability. In a landscape where structural accessibility is routinely treated as an afterthought, the burden of navigating daily life falls squarely on PWDs.
Directed, written, and produced by filmmaker and advocate Mae Chan Li, the film features Katrina “Kat” Hernandez, a para powerlifter, executive producer, and wheelchair user, as she goes about withdrawing money from an ATM, picking up medication at a pharmacy, and buying groceries. Steep ramps, broken sidewalks, ill-designed elevators, and poorly constructed roads transform basic errands into formidable obstacles.
“What appears mundane carries the weight of constant adjustment, of having to find a way. Para-Paraan relies on minimal dialogue, using observation and presence to convey meaning. I wanted the experience to unfold without explanation, allowing viewers to sit with these moments as they are,” Li, the director, shared.
“In doing so, the film shifts attention away from the individual and toward the environments and systems that shape participation. This film is not about extraordinary barriers but about ordinary ones. It reflects a reality that many people move through every day, often unseen and unquestioned. My hope is that ‘Para-Paraan’ encourages viewers to look more closely at the spaces around them and to reconsider what access, inclusion, and participation truly mean,” she added.
Rather than leaning on dramatic narration or heavy-handed exposition, “Para-paraan” adopts a quiet, observational approach with minimal dialogue. Li noted during a Cinemalaya talkback session, which was moderated by film educator Seymour Sanchez, the film was intentionally presented in a non-preachy manner, allowing audiences to sit with the unvarnished realism and draw their own conclusions.
By stripping away artificial drama, the film highlights a troubling cultural paradox that PWDs are praised for their “resilience” in spaces that fail to support them, when true accessibility should have existed in the first place.
Both Li and Hernandez, who co-founded the disability advocacy platform Kat Out of the Box, view the film as an avenue to reframe disability in Filipino society.
For government agencies, local government units, and urban planners, “Para-paraan” serves as a direct invitation to consult PWDs when designing public spaces, ensuring that accessibility becomes an integral standard rather than something marginalized citizens must constantly “find a way through.”
