Documentary | 86 min | 2022 | Philippines
Language: English, Filipino
Subtitles: English
A documentary featuring survivor stories of state-sponsored violence during the Martial Law years of dictator Ferdinand Marcos. Thousands were jailed, tortured, raped, and killed while communities were massacred in the crossfire between state forces, Maoist rebels, and Muslim separatists. In 2013, the Philippine government passed a landmark law which officially recognized these atrocities and mandated compensation for the victims, funded by the illegally-acquired wealth of Ferdinand & Imelda Marcos, hidden in their Swiss Bank accounts. 11,103 victims were given compensation as a result of the law.
Jeannette Ifurung is the Co-Founder of Storytellers International Inc. and Director of various content for Television. She has produced several Martial Law-themed documentaries including The Fall of a Dictator – History Channel Asia (2011), The Housewife Who Led A Revolution – History Channel Asia (2011), The Assassination of Ninoy Aquino – History Channel (2010) and Batas Militar (1997), the most extensive documentary on Martial Law and the dictatorship of Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Sr. to date which has been the highest rated independent documentary broadcast on Philippine television. The documentary swept all major awards in the Philippines and was a finalist at the International Documentary Festival in Amsterdam and the New York Festival. She was a Producer for CNN International, Channel News Asia, The Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism, and the Probe Team.
Miguel Alcazaren is a veteran advertising director who began his career heading the award-winning animation group Alcazaren Bros. in 1989. In 2007, he won first place in the Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards for Literature for his screenplay Prisoner Alpha, a bio-pic about the incarceration of Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Sr’s biggest opponent, Senator Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino. In 2013, he wrote, produced and directed his first feature film Puti (“White”), an art house thriller featured in the Orbit Competition of the 32nd Brussels International Festival of Fantastic Film, Belgium. His latest creative work is a comic book series Patay Kung Patay (Death Be Damned); a political series about a zombie revolution in a remote hacienda.
Inspired by true events, the film chronicles the story of Sisoy Salas, a corrupt journalist seeking justice for his colleagues, and convict Roman Rubio, a hired gun who is regularly brought out of prison to perform assassinations.
This year’s FRAMES short film competition is focused on discovering and supporting young filmmakers from the Philippines who are deeply committed to human rights.
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