MANILA, Philippines—As we continuously combat misinformation and ‘sabi ng Lolo/Lolo ko’ claims about the Marcoses and their dictatorial regime, watch and spread these two movies that were fact-checked and researched, that depicted atrocities then and the continuing efforts to revise history now, especially with the use of social media, as they are now made available online for free.
Lauren Greenfield, the creator of The Kingmaker announced last March 11 that they made arrangements with their distributing partners ABS-CBN and iWantTFC to make its critically-acclaimed documentary available for everyone without payment or the hassle of having an account to access the film.
The Kingmaker tackles the most controversial regime in Philippine history. From accusations of manipulation of votes, corruption hidden under the guise of projects and infrastructure, their political rivals, the Aquinos, their fall from grace, and their attempts to claim the highest seat in the country all from the perspective of the former first lady Imelda Marcos.
The movie also featured insights from activists during the regime, notable historians, and the stand of ordinary citizens to provide a whole view of the Marcos landscape.
One of the notable parts of the film are the accounts of 2022 presidential candidate Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ Marcos Jr., and now presumptive president, on what was it like being the son of a dictator and on his journey in attempting to get the highest seat inland like his father.
Watch the full documentary here:
Another movie that is worthy to be on your to-watch list is award-winning film Liway. As announced last March by Kip Oebanda, the creator, director, and core source of the story, is now available on YouTube ad-free with English subtitles.
Liway is based on a real-life story of an activist, carefully trailing her path as she endured her life as a political prisoner and a mother in one of the camps during Martial Law.
This was first premiered in 2018 as part of the 14th Cinemalaya Independent Film Festival and later won the special jury commendation and the audience choice award in the full-length feature film category.
Watch the full movie here:
If one can spend hours delving into the conspiracy theories and maybe craft spliced videos to create memes and unconsciously (or consciously) spread fake news, it is about time to dive into these critically-acclaimed movies with an open mind and without ‘prOpaGanDA laNg yAn Ng Mga diLawAn’ mindset.
Being open to all sorts of information helps in building one’s critical mindset. With the national elections recently drawing to a close, may we call for accountability from our elected officials and the Filipino people to never let history repeat itself.