Confessions a big hit in Pressure Point Festival

A film that graphically illustrates the dangers of date rape left a strong impression on its viewers during a screening at the recently concluded Pressure Point Project Festival held at the Multi-Purpose Center in Susupe.

Seventeen-year-old Marianas High School student Bernard Rivera impressed parents, students, and the media with his artistry in making the 26-minute digital film, which Rivera himself wrote, filmed, and directed.

The short film stars Rivera’s sister, Ares, who plays a typical teenager who loves going out on blind dates and regular dates with fellow teens on the island. Other cast members included Gabriel Berger, Xavior Borja, David Baker, and Bernard Mafnas.

As narrated in the movie, Ares had gone to a party but her friends had left ahead of her, so she had no one to take her home. A young male friend offers her a ride, supposedly to take her home, but instead takes her to a dark area and rapes her. Ares manages to run away from her attacker and she takes refuge inside a public restroom, where she screams out her rage at what has been done to her. She then goes home and faces her mother, who has no idea of her plight. “If you have been sexually harassed or a victim of rape call 234-7272,” reads the last frame of the film.

“I wanted to let the public know that, with one incident, the life of a teenager can change forever. Anything can happen that can change our lives in an instant,” Rivera said.

Rivera shot the film using a digital video camera and completed the editing process the night before the festival.

Jojo Alepuyo produced the film under the MHS Studio Production.

Besides the film show, other CNMI youths performed a variety of musical shows, one act play, and other multimedia presentations during the Pressure Point Project Festival. The presentations and performances aimed to promote awareness and prevention of sexual pressures among teenagers in the CNMI.

The festival—a first in the CNMI—was an instant success, with hundreds of youth and their parents visiting the festival venue on Saturday.

Division of Public Health’s Family Planning Program spearheaded the outreach project as part of its effort to educate the CNMI youth on issues related to sex.

Pressure Point Project officer Roxanne Diaz said she was overwhelmed with the turnout of the event and the materials showcased during the event were superb and had powerful impact on adolescents of the CNMI.

Due to the wonderful output of the festival, the committee will be sending copies of the output, especially the Confessions film by Rivera, to all schools in the CNMI through compact DVDs.