“Sunday Beauty Queen”
Three documentaries on the Philippines are part of the FreedomFilmFest, ongoing at the JLN University, Petaling Jaya, Malaysia until tomorrow.
Included in the festival are Baby Ruth Villarama’s “Sunday Beauty Queen,” Michael Collins and Marty Syjuco’s “Give Up Tomorrow” and Bryan Kristoffer J. Brazil’s “Sa Kalagitnaan ng Gabi.”
“Sunday Beauty Queen” tackles the travails of Filipino domestic helpers who mount a pageant on their day-off in Hong Kong. “Give Up Tomorrow” follows the complicated case of Paco Larrañaga, who is accused of the rape and murder of two Cebuano girls. “Sa Kalagitnaan ng Gabi” dissects President Duterte’s war on drugs and its impact on human rights in the Philippines.
The event is spearheaded by the Freedom Film Network (FFN), “a nonprofit body established to support and develop social documentary filmmaking within the context of freedom of expression and the values contained in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.”
The FFN “aims to … inspire, motivate and enhance [filmmakers’] capacities to produce powerful and relevant films within limited budgets and other constraints in production work.” Screenings are also set in Kota Kinabalu (Oct. 14), Kuching (Oct. 29), Ipoh (Nov. 4), Singapore (Nov. 11 and 12), Muar (Nov. 18), Johor Bahru (Nov. 19) and Penang (Nov. 25 and 26). —BAYANI SAN DIEGO JR.
“Give Up Tomorrow”