A month ago, actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt took to Facebook to ask his fans for photos taken in the Philippines that they were proud of. He mentioned that he was crowdsourcing these snapshots for a video project he was working on via hitRECord, an online collaborative creative platform that he founded.
Last September 12, Gordon-Levitt finally posted the finished product on Facebook, a short video titled “The Beauty of the Philippines,” which featured pictures and clips from all over the country.
It is accompanied by a voice-over that highlights the people in the country over anything else. The video opens with a clip of waves crashing onto the shore of one of our many beaches and a voice narrating, “The most beautiful thing about the Philippines is its people. They find beauty in all things. They will make you feel like you are family…like you are home.”
This truly shows in the short video. While there are shots of picturesque landscapes, it’s evident that the captured moments of the people – from a snapshot of friends having fun at the beach to a portrait of Kalinga tattoo artist, Whang-Od – are the main focus of this project.
Gordon-Levitt made sure to emphasize that “The Beauty of the Philippines” is ultimately the creation of the many people who came together to make the project a success.
“Like everything we do on hitRECord, this piece is a true collaboration. Artists from the Philippines contributed thousands of photos and videos to bring other artists’ writing and voice acting to life,” Gordon-Levitt wrote.
“Wanted to take a moment to say thank you to everyone who contributed. Your enthusiasm for this project really moved me. So did your talent and creativity,” he added. “The finished piece is such a sweet celebration of a beautiful place and culture. Bravo to everyone who contributed! Hope you all enjoy it as much as I did. 
Looking forward to seeing what we’ll create together next.”
