'Rise up and be Sean': 3-day filmfest during summit to feature people's resistance

A three-day film festival dubbed as "Rise up and be SEAN" is organized in Cebu to show documentaries of people's resistance in Southeast Asian countries in time for the ASEAN Summit.

Grassroots community groups, non-government organizations and international solidarity organizations have joined forces with independent film producers and programmers to offer a lineup of films from the grassroots, from the resistance, in a diversity of styles and lengths, dealing with key issues in unexpected ways.

The festival will feature films about migrant workers and labor export policy, the war on terror and US military bases and political killings that will be shown from 7:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. starting December 9 to 11 at the roof deck of NS Royal Pension.

Each program of "Rise up and be SEAN" will include time for audience reaction, discussion and exchange with individuals and groups attending the counter-ASEAN activities in Cebu.

The festival features films like Mass Grave, a shocking look at the 1965 massacres in Indonesia, global investigative works like Turbulent Waters and a rare look into the society of North Korea through a group of soccer stars in The Game of Their Lives. Some of the filmmakers will be present to expose injustice and present perspectives on the world that break the mold, sometimes at much risk to themselves.

The three-day festival is organized jointly by Migrante International, Southern Partners and Fair Trade Corporation and Southern Tagalog Exposure from the Philippines, the International League of People's Struggle-Southeast Asia and Oceania, Productions Multi-Monde of Canada, with the assistance of Brunei-based programmer Mervin Espina. - Gregg M. Rubio/MEEV