Fashion meets activism — Nour Hooshmand wears Ayta map vs. Pax Silica

“Ria” lead actress Nour Hooshmand is using fashion to protest the environmental and cultural threats posed by the US-led Pax Silica industrial hub to Ayta ancestral lands in Capas, Tarlac.

At the opening of the 31st Busan International Film Festival (BIFF), where her film “Ria” was featured, the award-winning actress wore a striking orange ensemble printed with a detailed map originally drawn by the Ayta community in Capas.

The collaboration, facilitated by artist and cartographer Cian Dayrit, draws inspiration from Filipina designer Antonina Abad Amoncio’s Rakuten Tokyo 2018 look. The garment transforms the community’s cartography into a statement on ancestral land rights and the consequences of industrial development.

Fashion as protest

The bespoke outfit protests a proposed 1,620-hectare land conversion project for the Pax Silica hub, a facility intended to process critical minerals such as copper, cobalt, and nickel for semiconductor and artificial intelligence-related industries in the United States and other signatory countries.

A theater graduate of the University of the Philippines Diliman, Hooshmand echoed the concerns of Tanggol Magsasaka advocate Rex Cesora who wrote on the threats of the Pax Silica project on sacred burial sites, mountains, and vital farmlands, putting the Ayta community’s heritage and identity at risk.

“The map is a microcosm of the scale of destruction: heritage erasure and displacement of communities caused by Pax Silica,” Cesora wrote.

By wearing the community’s map, Hooshmand draws attention to the Ayta people’s deep connection to their ancestral domain and the potential consequences of the proposed development.

Threat to ancestral lands

According to reports by Altermidya, several sitios, including Kalangitan, Sapang Kawayan, Manabayukan, and Binyayan, face land dispossession, economic displacement, and intensified military presence.

The reports also allege that the Bases Conversion and Development Authority has undermined the free, prior, and informed consent (FPIC) process of Indigenous communities through forced evictions. Residents have reported military blockades preventing Ayta families from receiving essential relief goods and construction materials for their ancestral lands.

The reports further cite harassment and intimidation, as well as arrests involving Indigenous farmers, peasant leaders, youth, and their allies over protests against exploitative tourism and corporate encroachment.

Punk rock resistance

Hooshmand’s activism echoes the themes of her breakthrough role in the 2026 punk drama “Ria.” She plays the titular orphan, who works as a yaya by day and a punk rocker by night while fighting oppressive property development in Manila’s marginalized communities.

“In a world of oppression and corruption, punk represents the fight for freedom — no matter who you are or where you come from. Anyone can resist, anyone can be a punk,” she wrote in a post featuring her character.

Taking her advocacy to social media, Hooshmand urged followers to stand with affected communities and support their fight for ancestral land rights.

With US President Donald Trump scheduled to visit Manila on November 16 to finalize the Pax Silica agreement, the actress reiterated her position over on X (formerly Twitter) with a direct call: “Lupang ninuno depensahan protektahan!” She also used the rallying hashtag #ShutThePaxDown.