MANILA, Philippines – FRONTLINE, an investigative documentary series from PBS has acquired Filipino-American director Ramona Diaz’s A Thousand Cuts, that boldly zooms in on democracy and press freedom in the Philippines under the authoritarian reign of President Rodrigo Duterte. The film is now streaming for free for 24 hours in the Philippines, that aptly started on June 12, Independence Day.
The Philippine-exclusive features Diaz’s documentary that premiered at the US Documentary Competition of the 2020 Sundance Festival. A Thousand Cuts follows multi-awarded journalist and force behind Rappler, Maria Ressa, along with writers and editors of the news organization set in a time when the free press was openly under attack under a strongman rule. This went the lengths of verbal and very public abuse directed at the organization’s reporters, accusations of peddling fake news, and actual banning of the outlet from entering the Malacanang compound, all in an effort to tarnish the reputation of the media agency, and the fourth estate in general.
In a statement to Deadline, Diaz shared, “A Thousand Cuts comes at a time when journalists are being targeted for doing their jobs and independent media is at risk globally. It’s both a timely and timeless story of abuse of power and people who refuse to be cowed into silence. With its unparalleled work in investigative journalism and its fervor for rolling out timely cinematic documentaries, Frontline is the perfect home for this film.”
The sneak peek comes days before the verdict on the pending legal battles faced by the organization since 2016 gets released on June 15. Rappler, since President Duterte has assumed office, has taken an in-depth, investigative look at the unexplained deaths and extra-judicial killings in the administration’s ongoing war on drugs, as well as the alleged weaponization of disinformation in social media that proved to be helpful in creating a divide in the nation.
Following the Philippine sneak peek, Ressa is also set to join Diaz and FRONTLINE Executive Producer Raney Aronson-Rath in a virtual event, made in cooperation with the International Center for Journalists this Saturday, June 13, at 8 pm.
Early this year, the Imelda filmmaker, in a panel discussion at the Sundance Film Festival 2020, answers questions on how A Thousand Cuts came to be.
The 24-hour sneak peek began at 6 pm on June 12 until 6pm on June 13. Watch the film here.
Featured image grabbed from Rappler