06/05/2026
๐๐๐๐ | โ๐๐๐๐๐โ: ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ญ๐ฎ๐๐๐ง๐ญ ๐๐ก๐จ๐ซ๐ญ ๐
๐ข๐ฅ๐ฆ ๐๐๐ซ๐ง๐ฌ ๐๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง๐๐ฅ ๐๐๐๐จ๐ ๐ง๐ข๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง
An assessment inside a rural rice shed becomes something else entirely in โSUKAT,โ a short film by a student from St. Scholasticaโs College Tacloban, Inc. (SSCTI), which has secured a spot in the Academedia Online 2026 lineup under the theme โLupa ay Buhay,โ marking its leap from a school to a national platform.
Through Academedia Online, a collaboration between the Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP) and the Academic Film Society (AFS), selected student films are given the opportunity to reach broader audiences through the FDCPโs streaming platform, JuanFlix.
At the heart of this milestone is Paul Andrei Boleche, a Third Year Psychology student whose directorial vision transformed โSUKATโ into more than just a student short film. He was the director, cinematographer, and writer of the film. By weaving psychological knowledge into cinematic storytelling, Boleche created a work rooted in both academic reflection and social relevance.
For Boleche, the announcement was nothing short of surreal. โAt first, I didnโt think much about it when I submitted it. I was just shocked later on, considering there were several other great films as well.โ That disbelief soon gave way to a deeper realization: โSUKATโ had resonated beyond its intended scope.
The film itself is quiet but pointed. Filmed in Brgy. Bulod, Sta. Fe, Leyte, with Paul Andrew Dalomias as Cris and Ma. Natalea Asis as Clarisse, it follows a Psychology student conducting an assessment in a rural rice shed, only to realize that the tools being used donโt quite match the reality in front of them. The clipboard is then set aside and the listening begins. Itโs a simple premise, but it opens up a larger question: how do you measure people whose lives donโt fit the system youโre using?
That question comes directly from Bolecheโs background. โStudying psychology has shaped my understanding of people,โ he explained. โThe field itself requires you to go in-depth and understand context.โ That focus on context becomes the core of the film: whatโs missing, whatโs overlooked, and what doesnโt translate.
The idea wasnโt random. It came from something he carried from class into the film. โI was told by a lecturer that we have to make psychology for the Filipino people,โ he said. โThatโs what we tried to apply.โ
The film is grounded in Sikolohiyang Pilipino, particularly the works of Virgilio Enriquez, and is aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) specifically SDG 1 (No poverty), SDG 2 (Zero Hunger), and SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-Being).
Furthermore, it is based on an actual 2024 research thesis on the mental health of rural farmers in Eastern Visayas, conducted by student researchers from SSCTI. Even the title reflects that thinking. โSUKAT,โ which means โmeasure,โ is less about numbers and more about the systems behind them, who they work for, and who they leave out.
โIf we can change the measure,โ Boleche added, โmaybe we can change psychology as well, turn it into something better for the Filipino.โ
The film doesnโt reject existing frameworks outright, but it questions their limits, especially when applied in a different cultural setting. โWestern psychometrics tries to measure the human being,โ he said, โbut the problem is itโs not culturally appropriate for every country.โ
Through this lens, the film challenges the public to reflect on the cultural limitations of imported systems, particularly Western psychometrics, and the need for more inclusive, culturally grounded approaches in psychological practice.
Boleche emphasized that the future of psychology lies not in rejecting existing frameworks entirely, but in reshaping them to better serve Filipino realities.
While the ideas behind โSUKATโ are layered, the process of making it was far from ideal. There was no external funding. โZero,โ Boleche said. โSukat was made out of pocket โ my own pocket.โ
Furthermore, he explained how time was tight, and production didnโt go as planned. โWe were expecting three hours, but it extendedโฆ our light was already low.,โ he recalled. Itโs the kind of situation that doesnโt show up in the final output but defines how the film was made: adjusting, cutting corners, and continuing anyway.
Despite that, the film was completed, and for Boleche, that mattered more than anything else. โIt wasnโt just about being recognized,โ he said. โIt was an achievement for me to finish something that I can be really proud of.โ The selection by the FDCP came after that, not as the goal, but as confirmation that the work held up beyond its original context.
Now part of Academedia Online 2026, โSUKATโ sits alongside other student films, but it carries a specific kind of weight. It doesnโt rely on scale or spectacle. Instead, it leans on a question that doesnโt resolve easily, what happens when the systems we trust donโt fully understand the people theyโre meant to measure?
Available on JuanFlix from April 30 to May 14, the film invites viewers to sit with that question, opening a conversation on how psychology can better serve Filipinos and move towards a more inclusive and liberating approach.
๐ฏ๐ข๐ | ๐๐ข๐๐ก๐๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ ๐๐๐ฒ๐ฅ๐ ๐๐ง๐๐ข๐ง๐ | ๐๐ฎ๐ฅ๐ก๐จ๐ ๐๐ข๐ง๐ก๐ข ๐๐ฎ๐๐ฅ๐ข๐๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง
