Tommy Hafalla

(b. 1957, Baguio City, Philippines)

Originally trained as an aircraft mechanic, Tommy Hafalla volunteered on medical missions to the most isolated areas in the Northern Philippine Cordillera including Benguet, Kalinga, Ifugao, and Mountain Province. His introduction to indigenous communities and their ritual way of life paved a path of incorporating himself and his camera in the rituals he captures. Over the past 30 years, he has consistently moved his documentary practice away from grand narratives towards the local and particular, noting in detail the changes and misconceptions in these ethnolinguistic communities that have welcomed him not just as observer but as community member.