And So It Begins (Philippines)
Genre: Documentary
Country: USA, Philippines
Year: 2024
Duration: 99 mins
Director: Ramona S Diaz
Language(s): English, Tagalog, and other dialects
Subtitles: English
Producer: Ramona S Diaz
Principal Cast: Leni Robredo, Maria Ressa, Ferdinand Marcos Jr., Rodrigo Duterte, Sara Duterte, Imelda Marcos, Ferdinand Marcos
Synopsis
In a decades-long nonfiction saga of the Philippines, director Ramona Diaz presents the latest chapter on her homeland as the despotic reign of President Rodrigo Duterte is coming to an end. And So It Begins proffers unbridled access to all the key players in the months leading up to the country’s 2022 presidential election. With her keen observational eye and deep knowledge of the socio-political history and landscape, Diaz continues to find her own forms of storytelling as political disruption.
Taking place in the thick of the Covid pandemic, And So It Begins is a shape-shifting story of the raucous collective act of joy expressed in a quirky resistance movement that pits itself against the haunting specter of increasing autocracy. Weaving together multiple narratives against the backdrop of a gloves-off campaign for the most powerful office in the land, what emerges is a dazzling cinematic portrait of a beleaguered nation fighting for its very soul.
Date
Video
Asian World Film Festival
The Asian World Film Festival (AWFF), founded by Kyrgyz public figure Sadyk Sher-Niyaz and overseen by Executive & Program Director Georges N. Chamchoum, brings the very best of a broad selection of Asian World cinema to Los Angeles to draw greater recognition to the region's wealth of filmmakers and strengthen ties between the Asian and Hollywood film industries. Uniting through cross-cultural collaboration, the Festival champions films from over 50 countries across Asia, spanning from Turkey to Japan and from Russia to India and South-East Asia. The Festival is unique in that it predominantly screens Oscar and Golden Globe submissions for Best International Feature Film and Best Motion Picture - Foreign Language respectively. All films that participate in the Festival will have a unique chance to be guided through the challenging awards season and showcased to members of the Motion Picture Academy, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association and all Guilds for enhanced exposure, media attention and awards consideration. AWFF is a non-profit organization under Aitysh USA.