March 1, 2025 - The Vancouver premiere of the documentary Ahon delves into a Filipino Canadian mountaineering club and its members breaking barriers as immigrants trying to make a life in Canada. Ahon had its sole in-person run on February 26 but continues to be available online until March 23 as part of this year’s Vancouver International Mountain Film Festival (VIMFF).
Ahon is the first adventure documentary with an entire Filipino Canadian cast and crew to be featured in the VIMFF festival scene. The Filipino word “ahon” means to rise, emerge or break through a surface.
K8 ice climbing activity at Haffner Creek, BC in partnership with Arc’teryx. Photo by Leonard Maglalang.
Alberta-based K8 Mountaineering Club is featured in the film. K8 is a non-profit organization that provides access to education, equipment, and community to under 30 Filipino Canadians. It recently celebrated its 10th year anniversary.
The film blends hiking, scrambling, mountaineering, ice climbing, and gatherings with stories of the club's humble beginnings and the struggles Filipino Canadian immigrants must overcome to reach a place of comfort and belonging in Canada's mountains.
Filmmaker Trixie Pacis helmed the short documentary Ahon which follows members of the K8 Mountaineering Club reconnecting with their Filipino heritage and recounting personal stories. In one scene, K8 founding member Levi Ramos laments that as an OFW (overseas Filipino worker), Filipinos often forget their passions being so busy keeping two to three jobs just so money could be sent to loved ones in the Philippines. He said that when climbing and hiking, “Kahit one day, nalilimutan nating may problema tayo.” (That even for a day, we can temporarily forget our problems.)
Pacis directed two other documentaries also featured at the VIMFF: Wildflowers and Wild Aerial. In a statement exclusive to Canadian Filipino Net (CFNet), Pacis shared that she is currently directing a follow-up film to Wild Aerial that “will show the aftermath of the 2024 Jasper wildfire and impact of climate change on local glaciers through the eyes of adventure aerialist Sasha Galitzki.” Her first feature screenplay, Dil Rakh: Gloves of Kin, is currently available on Tubi and Amazon.
About the Author
Rachel Ramos-Reid started writing for magazines and newspapers when she was still a junior at the University of the Philippines’ Communication degree program majoring in Journalism. She continued to write in a public relations/corporate communications capacity in various private and government offices until moving out of the country in 1997 to work as Programme Officer for the arts and culture branch of the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization (SEAMEO-SPAFA) in Bangkok, Thailand. At the end of her term, Rachel found herself immigrating to Canada in the year 2000 and again searching for new beginnings.
Canadian Filipino Net is an independent, non-profit digital magazine produced by volunteer writers, editors, and webmasters. Your donation will go a long way so we can continuously publish stories about Canadian Filipinos. Click on a donate button and proceed either through PayPal, Debit, or Credit Card.
