DOKYU POWER (The Power of the Documentary) is a move to create meaningful political discourse using some of the world’s most celebrated documentaries. The event starts on People Power Day, February 25 and ends on April 9, the day we celebrate valor or Araw ng Kagitingan.
Through the power of documentaries, we listen to the neglected survivors of General Franco’s violent regime in The Silence of Others. We are led into the brewing scandal of Romania’s corrupt health system in Collective, and we are inspired by the all-women journalists in India with Writing With Fire.
And because we want to reach as many people as we can, we are screening the films for free.
The Philippine national elections in May 2022 is a momentous time in our history. We consider Dokyu Power to be an inspiring campaign for voters to go out there and claim their voices.
We claim our story back by creating parallels of past and future, particularly of the historic People Power; and learning to wield them as tools to learn how to shape our future.
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.
We are fortunate to have been able to program documentaries that have not only captured critical times in history, but have also helped shape history. As they will be screened in the Philippines for the first time, we have paid special attention to these films that show characters who defied corrupt institutions, broke stereotypes, and caught the attention of the world.
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 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
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
We are more than happy to bring back the following films that many people have missed, especially as they shed light on pressing issues relevant to the upcoming Philippine elections.
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
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
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
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
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 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
Reel-to-Real: Kwentong Martial Law program is a selection of films both fiction and documentary that covers issues relevant to our time; Gatilyo: State Violence and Abuses, Collective Amnesia: Martial Law and People Power, and Visions of Hope: A New Generation of Storytellers.
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
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.
[Collective Amnesia: Martial and People Power]
Availability: February 28 – March 06
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
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
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
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