Katips in Japan: ‘Fighting fake news one film at a time’
Group photo with “Katips: The Movie” cast after the meet & greet. In the photo are members of Angat Pinoy Japan, Engage, Migrante Japan and representatives from the academe. Tanada’s mother and son also graced the event. (Photo credits: Angat Pinoy Japan)
The idea of fake news and disinformation is not a new concept, as it is ever-evolving; fighting fake news is a collective effort.
This was actor-director-producer-lawyer Vince Tañada’s strong message on Saturday night during the meet and greet of Katips: The Movie in Tokyo, Japan. Tanada and three other cast members are in Japan to grace the showing of their multi-awarded film. The film, set to music, is a retelling of the struggles and horrors suffered by Filipinos who dared to oppose the dictatorial regime of former president Ferdinand Marcos Sr.
Student-activists and union members subjected to brutal acts by some military units are gruesomely depicted in the film. Katips: The Movie also tackles, albeit not as comprehensively, issues of untruths and half-truths which continue to resonate in the Philippines under the current dispensation.
Tañada, scion of the distinguished Tanada clan in the Philippines, shared that his company, the Philippine Stagers Foundation, Inc. (PSF), is now working on another film that will once again serve as foil to anyone attempting to revise Philippine history.
Katips: The Movie caused a stir when it was first shown commercially in Metro Manila theaters in early August 2022 as its playdates went head-to-head with another film that was clearly more propaganda than entertaining truth-telling. Katips’ storyline is no less controversial as it harks back to the dark martial law years in the 1970s during the Marcos rule.
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According to the multi-hyphenate Tanada, who came with his mother and son, producing the film was his contribution in the fight against history revisionism, fake news and disinformation. Tanada said he worked with a historian “to make sure the chronological accuracy of events is given justice.”
Other cast members also shared their individual experiences with Nicole Laurel-Asensio, who plays Lara in the film, deploring once again false reports about the death of her father in 2016. Johnrey Rivas, who plays Art and who hails from Davao, the province of the former president, shared that his relationship with his family suffered due to his newfound activism. OJ Arci, who plays Ka Xander, meanwhile rued about the rudeness and insensitivity now creeping in social media platforms.
The film will have three screenings in Tokyo, Japan including one at the prestigious Tokyo University of Foreign Studies on October 16, 2022. Another screening will be held at the International Conference Hall, House of Representatives at the National Diet Building. The building is where the sessions of the two houses of Japan’s National Diet are conducted. A third film showing will be at the Urawa Parco Comunale in Saitama Prefecture in the northern part of Greater Tokyo.
The Japan leg of Katips: The Movie was made possible through the efforts of ENGAGE, a Japan-based NGO, and Angat Pinoy Japan, a civic organization made up of Filipinos residing in different parts of Japan.
According to the Japan-based groups, showing Katips: The Movie will give Filipinos, in the Tokyo area at least, the opportunity to catch the film. A separate screening in the Kansai Region (Osaka area) is in the works but detailed information is still unavailable as of this writing.
The Japan run will also show to the international community that there are Filipinos still fighting against rewriting Philippine history, fake news, disinformation and misinformation. This, despite rapidly escalating attempts to silence the growing noise and muzzle the cause.
So, from the Land of the Rising Sun, where to next, Katips? EDV
