Watch Alyx Ayn Arumpac’s award-winning docu-film “Aswang”, The Kingmaker, and more Filipino films that are now streaming for free in the Dokyu Power (The Power of the Documentary) Festival.
The film festival, which began on People Power Day, February 25, and ends on April 9, 2022, seeks to create meaningful political discourse using some of the world’s most celebrated documentaries.
The festival earlier opened with Palanca-awarded writer Augie Rivera’s “Isang Harding Papel,” A Martial Law Musical directed by Nor Domingo.
The film selection includes the docu-film “Aswang”, the Philippines’ official entry to the 2021 Oscars which won numerous awards, including The Netherlands’ FIPRESCI International Critic’s Prize, Montreal International Docu Festival in Canada, Coup de cœur du Jury award in FIFIG France, and White Goose Award at South Korea’s DMZ International Documentary Film Festival.
Local films and documentaries are showcased in the festival as well as international films like the Spanish award-winning documentary film “The Silence of Others,” and Romania’s “Collective, among others.
Dokyu Power is organized by FilDocs (Filipino Documentary Society) with DAKILA and its Active Vista Center. It is supported by Purin Pictures and Rappler’s Move.PH.
The films can be streamed for free on the MOOV PH Cinema online movie streaming platform. Register for free through this link.
Here are the films screening for free as part of the Dokyu Power Program:
Isang Harding Papel
Isang Harding Papel tells the story of what it was like during the time of Martial Law where blind obedience was discipline, and discipline meant progress. But mostly it is a story about hope—in a country grasped by an authoritarian rule—between a mother who was detained for standing up for her beliefs and her young daughter who longs to be with her, learning and understanding the world, in the midst of distress.
[PHILIPPINE PREMIERE] Availability: February 25 – April 09
The Kingmaker
An extraordinary look into the controversial political career of Imelda Marcos. As the former first lady of the Philippines, Imelda Marcos is best known for her opulent lifestyle, but it was her behind-the-scenes influence of her husband’s presidency that rocketed her to the global political forefront. A journey through the Marcos family’s long history of corruption, extravagance and brutality, this documentary tells a cautionary tale of a powerful female leader whose questionable sense of reality divided a nation.
Availability: February 25 – April 09
Aswang
In 2016, a machinery was set in motion to execute suspected drug peddlers, users, and small-time criminals in the Philippines. ASWANG follows people whose lives entwine with the growing violence.
Availability: March 11 – April 09
Tao Po
From several immersion trips and in-depth interviews conducted by performance artist-activist, Mae Paner and playwright Maynard Manansala emerge four characters, four monologues that each give a human face to the issue of extrajudicial killings (EJK).
Availability: March 11 – 13
Manila Lockdown
In March 2020, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte imposed a strict lockdown in the capital, Manila, and surrounding areas. For Lito, his family, and millions of other urban slum dwellers across the city, a hard lockdown means no work. No work means no food. Hungry citizens take to the streets in protest.
The president orders the police and military to shoot anyone making trouble. Curfews are imposed and arrests are made. Aid arrives but it is not enough. As the restrictions continue throughout 2020, Lito navigates a daily struggle to save his family – from hunger and the pandemic.
Availability: April 01 – 03
The Cleaners
Enter a hidden third-world shadow industry of digital cleaning, where the Internet rids itself of what it doesn‘t like. Here we meet five “digital scavengers” among thousands of people outsourced from Silicon Valley whose job is to delete “inappropriate” content from the net. In a parallel struggle, we meet people around the globe whose lives are dramatically affected by online censorship. A typical “cleaner” must observe and rate thousands of often deeply disturbing images and videos every day, leading to lasting psychological impacts.
Evolving from a shared social vision of a global village to a web of fake news and radicalization, THE CLEANERS charts the rise and fall of social media’s utopian ideology.
Availability: March 18 – 20
People Power
PEOPLE POWER is the first comprehensive exploration of the use of active non-violence as a means to achieve social reforms.
By focusing primarily on the fall of Pinochet in Chile, the Palestinian intifada, and Cory Aquino’s “People Power” revolution in the Philippines, the film demonstrates how Filipinos jogged to gain political momentum, or how a small concession by Pinochet – 15 minutes on government television – became the vehicle to rally a nation around a simple slogan: the word “no.”
With insight from Gene Sharp, a leading expert on non-violent struggles, PEOPLE POWER weaves together personal and intellectual odyssey into an intriguing program.
[PHILIPPINE PREMIERE] Availability: March 25-27
The Silence of Others
This Goya and Emmy award-winning film follows people who survived the brutalities of the Franco dictatorship in Spain. It is a turbulent narrative as victims reopen wounds to find closure after years of being told to move on for the sake of the country’s healing. One character says: “This is not about looking at the past. It’s about fighting for our future.”
[PHILIPPINE PREMIERE] Availability: March 25-27
Collective
Collective was nominated for both the Academy Awards and BAFTA, on top of the over 40 accolades, it has garnered. However, the strength of Collective lies in the real-life impact it created on Romania’s broken healthcare system, as it emboldened people to talk about its revealed cracks.
[PHILIPPINE PREMIERE] Availability: April 01-03
SHORT FILMS
Portraits of Mosquito Press
The documentary is about the history and struggles for Press Freedom of Mosquito Press during the dark days of Marcos’s dictatorship.
[Collective Amnesia: Martial and People Power]
Availability: February 28 – March 06
Finding Ninoy
What was conceived as a new play centered on Ninoy Aquino’s solitary confinement during Martial Law is decontextualized into an experiment that probes if the “Filipino is worth dying for” as Aquino had declared.
[Collective Amnesia: Martial and People Power]
Availability: February 28 – March 06
Duterte’s Hell
Since taking office last June, President Rodrigo Duterte has been waging a deadly anti-drug campaign. In the past year, police and vigilantes have reportedly killed over 7,000 people suspected of participating in the drug trade.
[Gatilyo: State Violence and Abuses]
Availability: March 07-13
Suerte
Shooting a documentary on the drug trade quickly descends into a dangerous obsession for two student filmmakers.
[Gatilyo: State Violence and Abuses]
Availability: March 07-13
Filipiñana
The self-contained cosmos of the golf and country club reflects Philippine societal structures. New ‘tee-girl’ Isabel still needs to learn the rules, but she’s already looking for ways to subvert the system.
[Visions of Hope: A New Generation of Storytellers]
Availability: March 14-20
Kids on Fire
A prepubescent boy discovers the power of his sexuality during a religious camp, as he realizes his special role in the prophesied return of the Son of God.
[Visions of Hope: A New Generation of Storytellers]
Availability: March 14-20
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