The news earlier this week that Rappler founder and embattled journalist Maria Ressa became the first Filipino to be awarded the prestigious Nobel peace prize was greeted by human rights activists around the world. The award has put a spotlight on the struggle of journalists and activists fighting President Rodrigo Duterte’s attacks on press freedom.
For the past five years, Ressa and her news website Rappler did not waver in reporting on alleged abuses and corruption in the Duterte administration. Award-winning filmmaker Ramona Diaz captured Ressa’s plight in her latest film A THOUSAND CUTS, which world premiered at Sundance 2020. HIFF would play it later in the summer, as an official selection of the HIFF Summer Showcase.
We had the great privilege of moderating a Q&A with both Diaz and Ressa, who was convicted of trumped up charges of ‘cyber libel’ by Duterte’s regime. You can watch the entire Q&A here:
A THOUSAND CUTS film would have a successful film festival run around the world and was released theatrically last fall before it was broadcast on PBS’s Frontline series. The film is currently available to view for free online.
