Director Sheron Dayoc resigns from Marawi film project of Robin, Piolo: ‘This is no longer reflective of my beliefs’

Director Sheron Dayoc accepts the award for best film for “Women of the Weeping River.” Image: INQUIRER/Marinel Cruz

Award-winning director and filmmaker Sheron Dayoc recently made it known that he has resigned from “Children of the Lake,” the Marawi film project produced by Spring Films. Spring Films is an independent film production company managed by actor Piolo Pascual, director Joyce Bernal and Cornerstone Entertainment president Erickson Raymundo.

“Children of the Lake,” the latest project of actors Robin Padilla and Piolo Pascual, is based on the Marawi siege that rocked the country in 2017. Padilla, back in July, shared that the film was not government propaganda, calling it instead “a form of peaceful revolt” to tell the true stories that happened during the crisis. Proceeds of the film will accordingly be used for the rehabilitation of the war-torn city.

Director Dayoc, a child of Zamboanga, took to social media on Monday, Sept. 17, to share that he has cut ties with the film, as it “is no longer reflective of my beliefs as a Mindanao storyteller.”

“My professional career started and rooted in telling the narratives of the marginalized Muslim Mindanao and this project is no longer reflective of my beliefs as a Mindanao storyteller,” wrote Dayoc on Facebook. “The producers and I have totally different perspectives on how the story of Marawi should be told.”

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Although he didn’t specifically mention what differing perspectives he had with the producers, Dayoc wrote that the film was a sensitive subject matter and “must be treated with prudence in respect to all the lives lost during the war in Marawi.”

“I fought for what I believe is right on how to tell this story. I could be wrong, but I could also be right, but certainly I need to make a position and this is my stand,” Dayoc continued.

Dayoc also extended his best wishes to Spring Films and hoped they make a movie about Marawi that would benefit its people.

“I wish Spring Films the best and I hope that they will make a Marawi film that is truthful and beneficial to the Marawi people, specially the victims of war.”

Dayoc’s past films include “Women of the Weeping River,” which won best picture at the 2016 QCinema International Film Festival. The film revolves around a widow who finds herself in a blood feud that stretches back generations, putting to light the conflicts experienced by the people of Mindanao.

“The conflicts there were usually brought by those who transferred from Southern Mindanao. I get to witness everyday blood feud between families so I thought it would be an interesting and important story to tell,” Dayoc said then.

Dayoc also won the Mecenat Award at the 21st Busan International Film Festival in South Korea in 2016 for his Mindanao documentary “The Crescent Rising,” besting 10 other films. “The Crescent Rising,” which spotlighted the longstanding armed struggle in Mindanao, likewise won best documentary in the Gawad Urian Awards that same year.  /ra

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