On the heels of the shocking guilty verdict in the Manila trial of renowned Filipino journalist Maria Ressa, A Thousand Cuts is an inside look at the key players in the escalating war between press and government in the Philippines. Directed by award-winning filmmaker Ramona S. Diaz (Motherland), A Thousand Cuts is launching in over 40 indoor and virtual cinemas nationally on Friday, August 7th.
In 2016, outsider candidate Rodrigo Duterte upset the political establishment in the Philippines by winning the presidency and promising vengeance and violence. Within hours of taking office, bodies piled up in the streets. Rappler, the country’s top online news site, investigated the murders and revealed a government-sanctioned drug war targeting poor addicts instead of lucrative dealers. In an attempt to suppress independent reporting, Duterte unleashed a powerful disinformation campaign that spread like wildfire throughout social media.
Director Ramona S. Diaz follows key players from two sides of an increasingly dangerous war between the press and government. Representing the journalists is fearless Rappler founder and CEO Maria Ressa, who, despite arrests and harassment, continues to publish articles holding a lawless regime accountable. On the other side, influencers such as pop-star-turned-government-secretary Mocha Uson start incendiary social media movements and General Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa spearheads a public execution campaign against addicts. As each side digs in, we become witness to an epic and ongoing fight for the integrity of human life and truth itself—a conflict that extends beyond the Philippines into our own divisive backyard.
[This] pacy, engrossing, galvanizing film feels more like a political thriller than an off-the-cuff investigation into embattled journalism in the Philippines, but Ressa’s seemingly boundless energy, good humor, and intelligence make her basically a power plant for the manufacture of inspiration in embattled times.
– Jessica Kiang, Variety
A Thousand Cuts Official Trailer
Official Selection – Sundance Film Festival 2020
Official Selection – SXSW 2020
Official Selection – San Francisco International Film Festival 2020 Official Selection – HotDocs 2020
Official Selection – Full Frame 2020
Official Selection – AFI DOCS 2020
Winner – Best Documentary – DocEdge 2020