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Batas Militar (1997 film)

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Batas Militar
GenreDocumentary
Written byLito Tiongson[1]
Directed by
  • Jeannette Ifurung (Post-production)[1]
  • Jon Red (Film and field production)[1]
Narrated byJoonee Gamboa[1]
ComposerJaime Fabregas[1]
Country of originPhilippines
Original languageFilipino
Production
Executive producerKara Magsanoc-Alikpala[1]
Producers
Running time110 minutes[1]
Production companyFoundation for Worldwide People Power[1]
Original release
NetworkABS-CBN
ReleaseSeptember 21, 1997 (1997-09-21)[2]

Batas Militar (transl. Martial Law, marketed as Batas Militar: A Documentary on Martial Law in the Philippines) is a 1997 Filipino television documentary film about martial law under Ferdinand Marcos,[3] and the ouster movement against him, the People Power Revolution.[4] The film was directed by Jon Red and Jeannette Ifurung, with the former focusing on dramatizations and narrated by Joonee Gamboa.[5]

The documentary was produced by the Foundation for Worldwide People Power, headed by Eugenia Apostol. It was broadcast on the ABS-CBN television network on September 21, 1997. The documentary was subsequently released on VHS.

Synopsis

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It features the human rights violations during martial law in the Philippines, the economy, and the biographies of Ferdinand Marcos, his wife Imelda Marcos, and his prominent critic, Benigno Aquino Jr.

Interviewees

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The following is a list of interviewees in the documentary, conducted from March until May 1997:[4]

Production

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Eugenia Apostol, a journalist and publisher, brought a film crew together to create a documentary under her newly established Foundation for Worldwide People Power (renamed as the Eggie Apostol Foundation in 2012) about the injustices committed during the two-decade presidency of Ferdinand Marcos.[2][6] Jon Red and Jeannette Ifurung became the film's pair of directors, with the former focusing on dramatizations and shoots on location, while the latter focused on post-production.[1] The resulting work became the most expensive documentary film produced in the Philippines.[2]

Release

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Batas Militar aired on Philippine television network ABS-CBN on September 21, 1997, the 25th anniversary of the proclamation that placed the Philippines under martial law in 1972 and was repeated on February 25, 2016, the 30th anniversary of the People Power Revolution,[2] subsequently airing on PTV in 1998 and 2012, two ABS-CBN-owned cable channels ABS-CBN News Channel (ANC) in 2000, 2012 and 2016, and Knowledge Channel from 2011 until 2012.[7][2][8] Afterwards, it was subsequently released on VHS.[2][9] As of 2016, the documentary has not yet been released on the DVD format.[2] However, the Eggie Apostol Foundation had posted the film available for streaming online on Facebook in September 2018, and then the filmmaker Mike de Leon has since posted the entire film on Vimeo, both but with additional archival footage not shown on the original broadcast and VHS release, omitting the film's mention of the 1968 Jabidah massacre and the 1972 Typhoon Rita. The addition of English subtitles was uploaded through his Citizen Jake production account on February 1, 2019.[1][10]

The film was also screened at the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA) in the Netherlands in November 1998.[11]

Accolades

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The film had won the KBP Golden Dove Award and the Gawad CCP Award for both Best Television Special and Best Documentary Special in 1998.[12]

It won a bronze medal at the New York Film Festival and was a finalist at the International Documentary Festival.[13]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Foundation for Worldwide People Power (February 1, 2019). Batas Militar. Retrieved April 29, 2020 – via Vimeo.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Doyo, Ma. Ceres P. (March 3, 2016). "Clamor for 'Batas Militar' DVD". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Philippine Daily Inquirer, Inc. Retrieved November 12, 2017.
  3. ^ "Who's Who in Print Journalism: Eugenia Apostol". Media Museum. Asian Institute of Journalism and Communication. Retrieved April 29, 2020. [Eugenia Apostol] produced and released the television documentary "Batas Militar" in time for the anniversary of the declaration of martial law in 1997.
  4. ^ a b Proclamation No. 1081 – Reflections on Batas Militar (Martial Law) on YouTube
  5. ^ Citizen Jake (February 1, 2019). "Batas Militar 1997. Color/109 minutes; with English Subtitles. A Production of the Eggie Apostol Foundation". Retrieved April 29, 2020 – via Vimeo.
  6. ^ Hernandez, Butch (August 3, 2012). "The Eggie Apostol Foundation". Inquirer Opinion. INQUIRER.net. Retrieved April 29, 2020.
  7. ^ ""Batas Militar" tonight". Philippine Daily Inquirer. September 21, 2000. Retrieved April 23, 2024.
  8. ^ "Catch "BATAS MILITAR" on Sky42". Knowledge Channel. September 20, 2011. Retrieved April 23, 2024 – via Facebook.
  9. ^ "Batas militar (VHS tape, 1997)". WorldCat. Retrieved April 29, 2020.
  10. ^ "The Eggie Apostol Foundation". Retrieved April 24, 2024 – via Facebook.
  11. ^ "Martial Law". International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam. Retrieved April 23, 2024.
  12. ^ "Kara Alikpala". Philippine Daily Inquirer. July 14, 2001. Retrieved April 24, 2024.
  13. ^ "POV Announces Acquisition of Environmental Thriller 'Delikado' Following World Premiere at Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival | POV". PBS. May 3, 2022. Retrieved July 24, 2024.
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