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AND SO IT BEGINS

by Ramona S. Diaz

SYNOPSIS

Amidst the traditional pomp and circumstance of Filipino elections, a quirky people's movement rises to defend the nation against deepening threats to truth and democracy. In a collective act of joy as a form of resistance, hope flickers against the backdrop of increasing autocracy.

DETAILS

99 mins

2024

USA, Philippines

English, Tagalog

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CREDITS

Directed, Produced, and Written by Ramona S. Diaz

BIOGRAPHY

DIRECTOR - RAMONA S. DIAZ

Ramona S. Diaz is an award-winning Asian American filmmaker whose films have screened at Sundance, the Berlinale, Tribeca, the Viennale, IDFA, and many other top-tier film festivals. All of Ramona's feature-length films — I MELDA (2004), THE LEARNING (2011), DON’T STOP BELIEVIN’: EVERYMAN’S JOURNEY (2012) and her latest film, MOTHERLAND (2017) — have been broadcast on PBS, on either the POV or Independent Lens series. Motherland won an award at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival and had its international premiere at the 67th Berlin International Film Festival. It was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award for Best Documentary, a Peabody Award, and a Gaward Urian Award from the Filipino Film Critics. She has received funding from ITVS, Sundance, CAAM, Tribeca, Catapult Film Fund, Chicken & Egg, MacArthur Foundation, the IDA, Cinereach and Creative Capital, among others.

For the past four years, Ramona has been a film envoy for the American Film Showcase, a joint program of the U.S. Department of State and the USC School of Cinematic Arts that brings American films to audiences worldwide. She has conducted master classes and production workshops all over the world. Ramona was awarded a prestigious Guggenheim Fellowship and was inducted into the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences (AMPAS) in 2016, and in 2017 received a Women at Sundance Fellowship and a Chicken & Egg Pictures Breakthrough Filmmaker Award. She is a current recipient of a United States Artist Fellowship. Ramona is a graduate of Emerson College and holds an MA from Stanford University.

SELECT FESTIVALS

SUNDANCE 2024〡CPH:DOX 2024〡THESSALONIKI 2024〡DOCEDGE 2024〡IT'S ALL TRUE 2024〡DOKFEST MUNCHEN 2024〡DOKUMENTALE 2024〡DOKUFEST 2024

PRESS

"Informative and enlightening about the cost of speaking truth to power as a journalist"
— Variety

"A fascinating and vibrant delve into politics in motion at a vital time within a country’s history"
— Business Doc Europe

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