Alyx Ayn Arumpac
2019 - 84 min - Couleur - Philippines, Allemagne, France, Norvège
In two years, over 20,000 men, women and children are killed in Duterte’s war against drugs in the Philippines. Documenting the growing violence and traversing through Manila’s underbelly into the homes of victims, "Aswang" follows a little boy born into this cruel system and a man who tries to fight it.
Jomari, six ans, fends for himself as he waits for his mother who is imprisoned on drug charges. The streets are a big game of survival for him, where fantasy and reality mix easily. He tells the filmmaker that the police sometimes ask him for information on drug users in his neighbourhood. One day, he disappears.
Brother Jun, a religious brother and photojournalist, spends his evenings going after crime scenes and funerals to document the cases and help the people bury the dead. Being a member of the clergy in a deeply religious society, they openly pour out their stories and sorrows to him. Victims also tell him of abuses by drug enforcement police, including a secret jail where they detain and torture people to extort money.
Brother Jun and his colleagues expose the secret jail, but with a disastrous aftermath.
Author-Director : Alyx Ayn Arumpac
Photography : Tanya Haurylchyk, Alyx Ayn Arumpac
Sound : Jean-Michel Perez-Albano, Mikko Quizon
Editing : Anne Fabini, Fatima Bianchi
Original Music : Teresa Barrozo
Delegate Producer : Cinematografica
Co-producer : Les Films de l'œil sauvage
Co-producer : Stray Dog Productions
Co-producer : Razor Film Produktion
Distinctions
2020 - Cinéma du réel, Paris (France) : Sélection2019 - IDFA - International Documentary Festival Amsterdam, Amsterdam (Pays-Bas) : Sélection