And So It Begins
-
“The Spectacle of Elections” | Ramona S. Díaz, And So It Begins
Films are made of and from places: the locations they are filmed in, the settings they are meant to evoke, the geographies where they are imagined and worked on. What place tells its own story about your film, whether a particularly challenging location that required production ingenuity or a map reference that inspired you personally, politically or creatively? The Philippines—in all its contradictions, its beauty, its spectacle, its heartache. I’ve made many films about where I was born, but I’ve always wanted to make a film about exuberance, even if it does not have a happy ending in conventional terms. […]
by Filmmaker Staff on Jan 22, 2024 -
“We Wanted To Embed the Viewer in the Energy of the Campaign”: Editor Aaron Soffin on And So It Begins
After Filipino president Rodrigo Duterte’s term comes to an end, the promise of democracy and threat of increased authoritarianism sends droves of citizens into the street to campaign for Liberal Party candidate Leni Robredo. Filmmaker Ramona S. Díaz captures the lead-up and aftermath of this critical election in her film And So It Begins, a companion to her 2020 doc A Thousand Cuts, about journalist Maria Ressa, who risks her life in order to vocally criticize Duterte’s involvement in the war on drugs. Below, editor Aaron Soffin discusses how he came onto the project only five months ago, trained under […]
by Filmmaker Staff on Jan 22, 2024 -
“Our Style Was Very Observational”: DP Bruce Sakai on And So It Begins
A companion to her 2020 film A Thousand Cuts, Filipino-American documentary filmmaker Ramona S. Díaz returns to Sundance with And So It Begins, which chronicles recent Filipino elections following the end of right-wing president Rodrigo Duterte’s term, which could either bring about the restoration of democracy or an increased shift toward nationalist leaders. Cinematographer Bruce Sakai reveals how he was hired to shoot the project due to increased COVID restrictions, as well as the decision to employ a “very verité approach.” See all responses to our annual Sundance cinematographer interviews here. Filmmaker: How and why did you wind up being […]
by Filmmaker Staff on Jan 22, 2024
