Like Kildea's earlier CELSO AND CORA, this film draws out universal themes as it records Philippine life, this time in a small village at a time when the atmosphere is charged with the tension of the Marcos' impending downfall.

Rogel and Aida Gonzales are the central characters of VALENCIA DIARY, rice farmers who came to Sinayawan, in the Valencia district of Mindanao Island, after losing a farm which they had pioneered from scratch. The film also features Father Rino, the charismatic village priest who dashes about his parish on a motorcycle, wittily protesting political and military abuses in the name of Heaven - a place the local military commander threatens to send him.

As the Presidential campaign brings important visitors to Valencia, Rogel and Aida tend to a small plot and to their children, while offering commentary on unfolding events in the context of their own experiences. Contrasting moods and textures, VALENCIA DIARY delivers its many sociological insights, but with an insistent respect for its subjects and for the everyday dimension of history.

"A wonderful addition to Philippine studies. It is a thoughtful, moving account of a crucial period in recent Philippine history... It is the kind of material one can profitably return to again and again."—Ben Kerkvliet, Pilipinas, A Journal of Philippine Studies

"VALENCIA DIARY and CELSO AND CORA are the most scrupulous documentary studies there are of Philippine social life."—Robert Nery, Filmnews