Towards an Archipelagic Imagination of the Nation: A Study of Philippine Regional Cinema

This thesis examines regional cinema as a cultural practice capable of producing alternative perspectives about the nation. It studies films and practices in various filmmaking sites to show that regional cinema offers a new way of imagining the nation as an archipelago. The thesis proposes that this new imaginary challenges the view of the nation as unified, coherent, and homogenous where the regions are marginalised. Instead, it presents the nation as composed of multiple and interrelated regions with distinct histories and cultures that coexist on equal terms. The thesis posits that reimagining the nation as an archipelago opens possibilities for a change towards an egalitarian and inclusive social relation in the nation.