SF Closing Night: And So It Begins

Veteran documentarian, Ramona S. Diaz (2020 CAAM Mentor) unfolds President Rodrigo Duterte’s reign as it comes to an end in her homeland, the Philippines. The film is set decades after the People Power Revolution ousted dictator Ferdinand Marcos and his legacy of martial law. This period of systemic police-state lasted for twenty-one years, yet many Filipinos remember that time as idyllic. In 2022, Marcos’ eldest son, Ferdinand (Bongbong) Marcos, Jr. is the frontrunner for president. We closely follow key players in the months leading up to the country’s 2022 presidential election. Maria Ressa, a Nobel Peace Prize winner and co-founder of Rappler, an independent online news service, offers a voice of conscience, as she probes the existing political rhetoric.

Marcos, Jr. is waging an unrelenting social media campaign against his opponent, the incumbent Vice President of the Philippines, Leni Robredo. A new people’s power movement is rising in Robredo’s name. Masses of working-class citizens praise the socially conscious attorney and perform renditions of pop songs in the streets in her honor.

And So It Begins, proudly CAAM-funded, highlights the collective joy of a resistance movement holding its own unique legacies of soulful determination.

Expected Guests in Attendance: Director Ramona Diaz, Associate Producer Allana De Guzman, and Editor Aaron Soffin

Film Details

Director: Ramona Diaz
Year: 2024
Running time: 113 min., 30 min. Q&A
Country/Region: The Philippines
Language: English