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Mark Smith and lola

Leah C. Salterio

MANILA — For Filipino-Australian filmmaker Mark Smith, a grandmother’s wartime survival story has become more than a family memory — it’s the heart of his next major film.After his father’s death in 2022, Smith began tracing his roots in Camiguin and Mindanao, uncovering the extraordinary life of his maternal grandmother, Donata Dagaraga, whose courage carried her through the Japanese occupation, devastating loss, and the violent eruption of Mount Hibok-Hibok.Those discoveries have now inspired “Escape to Camiguin,” a historical drama he hopes to film with a Filipino production partner by 2026 — a project he sees not only as a tribute to his Lola’s resilience, but also as a chance to spotlight Filipino stories, heritage, and acting talent on the global stage.For Smith, it is important to understand the past, which is always influencing the present.“We cannot change that,” Smith told ABS-CBN News. “All we can do it try to better understand it.”Smith has been focused on his family’s research for almost three years now. “This goes back to my college days as a researcher and historian at the University of Adelaide,” he said. “Going back to my roots, it has been an ancestry.com kind of experience.“I began talking to many long-lost relatives and delved deep into family history, both in Australia and in the Philippines on my mother’s side. It has formed the basis of two movies about the two great matriarchs of our family.”<div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1764212973278(1) Agustin and Donata Dagaraga become Australian Citizens in 1988.JPG" style="width:950px" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/>Agustin and Donata Dagaraga became Australian citizens in 1988. </div>Smith’s mother, Fe Dagaraga, was born in Butuan City in 1957 and migrated to Australia in 1980 to live in Adelaide, South Australia. Smith was born in 1985 and his grandparents – Donata Uayan Dagaraga and Agustin Jose Dagaraga – came to live with them in 1988.Smith’s grandmother died in 2014 while she was on holiday in Butuan City. She was 87. She left behind a legacy of love, care and compassion – nine children and more than 30 grandchildren.<div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1764213313957(5) Mark Smith and his Lola - the heroine of Escape to Camiguin movie.jpg" style="width:950px" class="fr-fic fr-dib fr-dragging"/>Donata Dagaraga cared for her three-year old grandson Mark Smith in Adelaide, South Australia.</div>Smith&#x27;s interest in his grandmother’s history started in 2008, when he first visited Camiguin Island with his family, including his late father John P McD Smith.“We went to Cebu for a family wedding then toured Mindanao and travelled by ferry to Camiguin Island,” Smith shared. “I will never forget we were forced to stay a few days longer on the island because of a storm, which created a fog that stopped all ferries. This meant a few extra thousand dollars spent at the resort, as we had family travelling with us.“That delay gave my father a chance to write and reflect. He was a prolific writer and published four books. He wrote a short story about the history of Camiguin Island during our visit. He researched the history of the Spanish settlement and volcanic eruptions. I found his story recently when I going through his papers, after he died and it triggered the idea for telling Lola’s story.”<div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1764213038678(2) Dagarga Family (1).jpeg" class="fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:950px"/>The Dagaraga family at Christmas in the 1960s in Butuan City. (L-R back row) Maharlika Guillena, Zenaida Dagaraga, Rodolfo Dagaraga, Rosario Abasolo, Agustin Dagaraga Junior (deceased) and Tita Legaspi. Mark Smith&#x27;s mother Fe Dagaraga Smith is seated between her parents Agustin Dagaraga and Donata Dagaraga with Julio Dagaraga (deceased) in front of her. Leonie Casino is in front of her father. Rodoflo (deceased 2015), Zenaida (deceased 1977) and Rosario were born on Camiguin before the 1951 eruption of Mount Hibok-Hibok.</div>That prompted Smith to research further and got inspired to film “Escape to Camiguin,” a heart-wrenching wartime story of his 15-year-old grandmother who served in the Japanese occupation.In mid-1942, Japanese forces invaded Mumbajao, and soon the footsteps of heavily armed soldiers could be heard on the beaches of Sagay, the town where Smith’s grandmother lived.“My Lola and her family were warned to quickly pack up the food they were cooking and flee into the hillside jungles,” Smith shared. “This was to be their life for the next few years of Japanese occupation, living high in the mountains and living off the land, eating wild fruits and sweet potatoes.“My aunt told me that food was only cooked at night, so the Japanese soldiers would not see the smoke from their cooking fires. She told me about digging caves by hand to provide shelter. Girls putting mud on their faces. Making themselves as unattractive as possible to the Japanese soldiers. Wearing shabby clothes made from hessian rice sacks.”At the height of war, Smith’s grandparents tied the knot in Sagay in the heritage-listed church of Our Lady of the Holy Rosary.June 8, 2023 marked the 80th anniversary of both sets of Smith’s grandparents — one couple wed on Camiguin Island, the other in the heart of the Australian desert in Alice Springs. “More than 7,000 kilometers apart, and yet they were married on the exact same day,” he shared. “Can you believe that?”“I imagined their wedding ceremony conducted in whispers to avoid attracting attention from the nearby soldiers, while the church doors were locked by the brave priest. This was a real commitment to love and the start of almost 60 years of marriage. I plan to go back later this 2025, to visit filming locations, and then again for the filming,&quot; he added.After surviving almost four years of the Japanese occupation, Donata, her husband Agustin, and their three children left Camiguin at the time of the eruption of Mount Hibok-Hibok, which killed more than 3,000 people and forced almost 35,000 to evacuate.“They went in a small fishing canoe towards a large passenger ship in the Bohol Sea. The captain told them it was destined for Hawaii and asked to keep their baby Rosario in exchange for providing safe passage to the mainland. Lola clung to her child and refused. The Captain relented and agreed to take them as far as Balingoan, the main port, where today tourists board the ferry bound for Benoni.”“They set up a new life with their three children, adding six more over the years including my mother in 1957,” Smith continued. “By that time, they were living in Butuan City in northern Mindanao and my Lolo had become a popular local barber with the mayor and congressmen as regular customers.”<div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1764213532697(6) Barongs at Christmas.jpg" style="width:950px" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/>Filipino traditions continued in Australia. Mark Smith with his late father John P McD Smith and Lolo, Agustin Dagraga, wearing barongs to attend church at Christmas time. </div><div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1764213119658(3) 1990s Family Photo.jpeg" style="width:950px" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/>In Australia in the 1990s (L-R) Mark’s mother Fe Dagaraga Smith, Agustin Dagaraga, Donata Uayan Dagaraga, Mark Smith, John P McD Smith (seated) and Stephen Smith, Mark’s younger brother. </div>Expectedly, there were many challenges Smith’s team encountered in the desire to make “Escape to Camiguin.”“Finding early photos of my Lola, that was difficult,” Smith lamented. “I have only found two. There is only one photo of my Lola as a young woman taken in the 1950s. I wondered why there weren&#x27;t any photos of my Lola and Lolo as children or of their wedding?“Many photos were lost through the years, when the family relocated from Camiguin Island to Mindanao, and some were lost when the Agusan River flooded in Butuan City in the 1960s.“It was also hard to find people who knew about Lola’s early life. My aunt and my mother’s eldest sister, Rosario Abasolo, was able to provide some interesting stories, as she is the only sibling still living who was born on Camiguin Island<div> </div><div> </div><div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1764213754796(8) Donata Uayan Dagaraga in the 1950s.jpeg" style="width:950px" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/>The only known photo of young Donata Uayan Dagaraga taken in the 1950s.</div><div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1764213822495(9) Butuan City in the 1960s.jpg" style="width:950px" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/>Surviving a flood of the Agusan River near Butuan City in the 1960s. (L-R) Agustin Dagaraga, Maharlika Guillena, Julio Dagaraga, Fe Dagaraga Smith and Agustin Dagaraga Junior. </div>If Smith can secure a Filipino production partner, he expects to start filming “Escape to Camiguin” in 2026 for possible release also next year. “I will be coming to the Philippines later in 2025 for the filming of a Camiguin Island travel vlog and to meet with key industry contacts in Manila,” Smith said.“I would love to release this film while my aunts are still alive so they can see the story of their parents, and in particular, their mother. It will be a great reason for a family reunion.”He plans to cast Filipino talents and give them significant roles in the film. “This movie is a chance to shine a light on Filipino acting talent, and share it with the world. It is an opportunity to lift others while telling a great story,” Smith said. “We also need an epic love song for this movie score, so perhaps one of the actors could also perform the song.“There are so many new and emerging actors who I would love to work with. Maris Racal has a Bisaya background and is also a singer. Belle Mariano, who was introduced to us in ‘Goin&#x27; Bulilit’ has lit up the screen in a number of romantic movies. Both can sing and act.“Andrea Brillantes, Marian Rivera, Shuvee Etrata, Kathryn Bernardo all deliver consistently strong performances, and perhaps Jillian Ward could tap into her comedy timing for some of the lighter moments in the story.“Any of these actors would be ideal for this wartime love story, which will be a combination of ‘Missing in Action’ and ‘Pearl Harbor.’ This is a story of true love, which happens when both people think that they are the lucky one. The best way to share this story is to partner with a Filipino production company and provide opportunities for Filipino acting talent to excel.&#x27;<div> </div><div> <img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1764213190188(4) Agustin the Barber - Cutting Mark_s hair in Adelaide SA.jpg" style="width:950px" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/>Agustin Dagaraga built a successful business as a barber in Butuan City in Mindanao. Agustin would cut young Mark’s hair at home in Australia, which was very unusual to Mark’s school friends.</div>“Escape from Camiguin” will be Smith’s film debut in the Philippines. He is also developing another film, “Finding Miss Almond,” now in pre-production in Australia with Hollywood actor and director Mark Webber attached to the project.In 2024, Smith released the short film “Glanville Hall: A House of Hope and Glory,” which traces the remarkable history behind “Finding Miss Almond” and the grand Victorian stone mansion where royalty and government leaders once dined. The estate later became a home for Indigenous children from the Australian outback, offering them access to education and better opportunities under the care of Smith’s grandmother and her husband, a Church of England priest.Smith said Camiguin offers no shortage of breathtaking and historically rich locations — from White Island and its volcanic hot and cold springs to the dramatic waterfalls of Katibawasan, Tuasan, and Binangawan. He also noted the island’s storied past, pointing to landmarks such as the sunken cemetery of Catarman, swallowed by the sea after an 1871 eruption and now declared a National Cultural Treasure, along with the Old Bonbon Church ruins and the Spanish-era watchtower in Guinsiliban.These sites will also appear in a travel vlog he is currently developing, titled &quot;Secrets of the Island Born of Fire,&quot; which he revealed exclusively to ABS-CBN. The project will showcase key filming locations and delve into the mysteries of Camiguin, the country’s second smallest province.Another exclusive detail, he added, is that the vlog will be hosted by viral travel vlogger Hello Shayne (Crystha Shayne Funcion), who will guide viewers through the island’s rich natural and military history. Smith said the vlog will also explore Camiguin’s early encounters with explorers, including Ferdinand Magellan in 1521, and revisit the devastation of the 1951 eruption. Shayne will send a drone into the volcano’s crater as she explains how the event displaced 35,000 residents and claimed 3,000 lives.“Shayne has been terrific to work with. She is from Cabadbaran in northern Mindanao and started her channel in 2022. To her credit she has built a Facebook following of more than 760,000 and has more than 400,000 total YouTube channel views,” Smith said.“Shayne is a talented storyteller. Her vlogs feel like reading a heartfelt travel diary, blending scenic shots with insightful history. We plan to launch the vlog in early 2026 on YouTube.”Smith, who founded Live Heart Productions, a production company bankrolling the two film projects, is seeking a Filipino production partner to share his grandmother&#x27;s tale with global audiences. “Getting the right Filipino production partner is critical and I am talking to a few different companies. We have to find the right fit and have a shared vision. It will create a precedent for an Aussie-Pinoy movie collaboration,&quot; he said.“I am looking forward to refining the script with the assistance of Filipino screen writers to ensure the language is on point. I hope audiences will embrace this story and learn more about Filipino history and culture, as we demonstrate the positive outlook millions of Filipinos maintain despite ongoing challenges and adversity.“My Lola had a deep faith, which helped her to endure war, poverty, natural disasters, losing her mother when she was young, losing a child, losing young grandchildren, limited education opportunities and relocation to a new country later in life.”The movie is dedicated to her memory, her struggle, her faith and resilience, and to sharing the message that love can triumph over injustice.“We must never forget that everything we are, was once a dream of those who came before us,” Smith said.

For Filipino-Australian filmmaker Mark Smith, a grandmother’s wartime survival story has become more than a family memory — it’s the heart of his next major film.

For Filipino-Australian filmmaker Mark Smith, a grandmother’s wartime survival story has become more than a family memory — it’s the heart of his next major film.

Fil-Aussie Mark Smith to film grandmother’s wartime story in 'Escape to Camiguin'

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Fil-Aussie Mark Smith to film grandmother’s wartime story in 'Escape to Camiguin'

Leah C. Salterio

Published November 27, 2025 01:51 PM PHT

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Escape to Camiguin

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