Pulong Bato (Mountain of Stone)

Aeon Abad is a filmmaker and freelance writer and editor. Living in the Philippines, she has written, produced, and directed numerous student short films and created two short indie films as an independent professional.

Abad makes her directorial debut with Rescatarme (2019) with a group of college friends. Shot in two weeks, the film is a passion project about a self-reflexive year of her life. The short film is screened at film festivals, taking first place at Zamboanga Film Festival 2020, and receiving an Honorable Mention at the Fear Faire Film Festival 2022 in California, USA. She then attended multiple film workshops and lecture series.

She applied and was accepted as a participant in the Cine de Oro’s Indaypendent Film Workshop. Under the workshop’s guidance, Abad shot Pulong Bato (2021) with Game Night Production Co. The film is based on intensive folklore research in which, she spoke to local elders, and accessed and read local myths and legends published online and in local school libraries. The short film was first screened on the FDCP Channel and later at multiple film festivals, winning Best Musical Score at the 19th Mindanao Film Festival and becoming an exhibition film at the 1st Cinemugat Film Festival in Tagum City.