And So It Begins

Filipinos love a story about hope—and this is what Ramona Diaz’s And So It Begins wants to give. The 99-minute documentary, which complements the Filipino American filmmaker’s 2020 masterpiece A Thousand Cuts, tackles former vice president Leni Robredo’s 2022 presidential campaign. After Rodrigo Duterte’s regime, which was marred by his bloody war on drugs, many Filipinos held on to Robredo, the catalyst of the “pink” movement rallying for change.  
 
The film premiered at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival and was selected to be the country’s official entry to 97th Academy Awards or the Oscars under the Best International Film category.  It earned mixed reviews from critics, as some yearned for more political depth on such a charged topic. And So It Begins only scratched the surface on the dirty underpinnings of the national elections but did put a spotlight on the disinformation that occurred and showed how Filipinos from different walks of life rallied for change. While Robredo ultimately lost to her fiercest rival Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., the documentary now serves as an archive and time capsule for the hope and power Filipinos hold. 

Visit Ramona Diaz’s website.