MANILA, Philippines – Ramona Diaz’s documentary, And So It Begins, premiered at the Cinemalaya Independent Film Festival on Friday, August 9, at the cinema of Ayala Malls Manila Bay in Parañaque City.
The documentary, which has a running time of 113 minutes, captures the emergence of the grassroots “pink” movement during the 2022 presidential elections, when former vice president Leni Robredo ran for office. Robredo was up against the son of former dictator Ferdinand Marcos, Ferdinand Marcos Jr., who eventually took the top post.
It also features Rappler and its CEO and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Maria Ressa’s fight for press freedom at a time when disinformation was at an all-time high.
Numerous notable figures were present at the advance screening. See them here:
(All photos by Rob Reyes for Rappler)
Before the screening began, Robredo gave the opening remarks. The former vice president said that when the film was shown at the Sundance Film Festival in the US in January, the filmmakers revealed that they had to sift through 800 hours’ worth of footage and eventually compress it all into less than two hours.
“This movie is not entirely about the campaign. This movie was supposed to be a sequel to ‘A Thousand Cuts.’ Nag-end ‘yung ‘A Thousand Cuts’ no’ng makukulong na sana si Maria Ressa…. Pagpunta dito nina Ramona for what was supposed to be a sequel for ‘A Thousand Cuts,’ tamang-tama, campaign season, at mag-a-announce ako [ng candidacy ko]. So, itong sequel to ‘A Thousand Cuts’ was made with the campaign as the backdrop,” she explained.
(This movie is not entirely about the campaign. This movie was supposed to be a sequel to A Thousand Cuts. A Thousand Cuts ended when Maria Ressa was supposed to be imprisoned…. When Ramona went here for what was supposed to be a sequel for A Thousand Cuts, it happened to be campaign season, and I was going to announce my candidacy. So, this sequel to A Thousand Cuts was made with the campaign as the backdrop.)
And So It Begins’ director Ramona Diaz and Maria Ressa, who plays a big role in the documentary, were at the screening.
Meanwhile, key individuals who contributed to Robredo’s presidential campaign also came to Cinemalaya to catch And So It Begins.
In attendance was former senator and 2022 vice presidential candidate Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan, who was Robredo’s running mate. Former senator Bam Aquino, Robredo’s 2022 campaign manager, was also there.
Meanwhile, musician Nica del Rosario, who sang the viral track “Rosas” alongside Gab Pangilinan, caught the screening as well. The song was instrumental to promoting Robredo’s 2022 campaign. She was accompanied by her partner, Justine Peña.
Two of Robredo’s daughters, Aika and Jillian, also came to support their mother.
Singer Leah Navarro was also at the screening. She appears in the documentary.
After the screening, art critic Marian Roces moderated a talkback session with Diaz, Robredo, and Ressa. Members of the audience were also given the chance to ask the panel questions.
Robredo admitted that she, Diaz, and the rest of the team behind the documentary were even more nervous during the Philippine screening than they were at Sundance. The audience at the Cinemalaya screening consisted of a sea of “Kakampinks” – the moniker for Robredo’s supporters during the campaign season – and campaign volunteers, among many others.
Meanwhile, Diaz shared that when she creates films, she does it with the intention of having the audience experience what she was able to bear witness to.
“What the vice president has done and what Maria has done is give me a front-row seat to history, right? And what I do is I bear witness. And what I do is I see something and I’m like, ‘Wow, I want the audience to see this.’ Just to experience it. I think my job as a filmmaker is to give you an experience. I’m not prescriptive about messages. I’m prescriptive about how you feel. How you feel is how you feel. It’s all about context, right? But I just want to give you an experience,” Diaz said.
A young member of the audience also asked the panel what change they’d like to inspire with the future generation of voters. As “everything is broken,” Ressa said that the youth must demand better — and this starts with inspiration.
“One of the lessons we learned in Rappler, or in the Facts First pyramid, is that inspiration spreads as fast as anger. That’s something that the Philippines discovered, and the same pyramid has been rolled out in other elections around the world. It’s so easy to tear something down. It is so much harder to build. And your generation, the youth today, must build. We’ll help you. But, your energy is different. So, that’s the first step. Don’t become cynical. That is the path that you’re on now,” she expressed.
And So It Begins officially premieres in Philippine cinemas on August 21. – Rappler.com