The searing story of President Duterte’s bloody campaign against drug dealers and addicts in the Philippines, told with unprecedented and intimate access to both sides of the war – the Manila police, and an ordinary family from the slum.

Shot in the style of a thriller, this observational film combines the look and feel of a narrative feature film with a real life revelatory journalistic investigation into a campaign of killings.

The film uncovers a murky world where crime, drugs and politics meet in a deathly embrace – and reveal that although the police have been publicly ordered to stop extra-judicial killings, the deaths continue.

On The President’s Orders – Official Trailer from Mongoose Pictures on Vimeo.

Speakers

James Jones is an Emmy-winning British director who makes documentary films for international television and theatrical release. He has made films all over the world – from North Korea, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Gaza, to the Philippines.

Olivier Sarbil is an award-winning French documentary director and Emmy-winning cinematographer based in London. Olivier has covered conflicts and critical social issues across Asia, the Middle East, Africa, Europe and North America.

Chair

Juliana Ruhfus is an award-winning journalist and filmmaker for Al Jazeera English, specialising in human rights and investigative work. She has gone undercover in Cambodian orphanages, followed US arms supplies into Syria and produced the five part “Corporations on Trial” series as well as a series of ground-breaking investigative digital projects. In 2013 “Action on Armed Violence” named Juliana as one of the top 100 journalists covering armed violence. Prior to Al Jazeera Juliana worked as a freelance reporter/ producer for Channel 4, BBC and as a consultant to the UN Security Council.

Duterte is a serial womaniser and a self-confessed killer, who has called both Barack Obama and Pope Francis ‘sons of whores’. He is on record as saying he does not ‘give a shit’ about human rights. Yet he is beloved of the 16.6 million Filipinos who voted for him, seen as vulgar but honest, a breath of fresh air, and an iconoclastic, anti-imperialist rebel.

In this revelatory biography, reporter Jonathan Miller charts Duterte’s rise in conversation with Channel 4’s News Anchor Krishnan Guru-Murthy, and shows how this fascinating, fearsome man can be seen as the embodiment of populism in our time.

Jonathan Miller

Jonathan Miller is Channel 4’s Asia Correspondent based in Bangkok. Three months after Rodrigo Duterte was elected in the President’s southern home city of Davao, Jonathan became the first foreign journalist to challenge him face-to-face on the devastation wrought by his controversial and deadly war on drugs. Jonathan was born in Derry, Ireland, and has lived much of his life in Southeast Asia, including correspondent postings with the BBC.

Krishnan Guru-Murthy

Krishnan Guru-Murthy is Channel 4’s News Anchor and presents Unreported World. Since joining the Channel 4 team in 1998 he has fronted big events from the Omagh bombing and 9/11, to special war coverage and the Mumbai attacks. Having covered five British general elections he does special political shows for Channel 4 such as the “Ask the Chancellors” debate.

At the same time, the controversial leader has shaken up the country’s diplomatic ties, calling for a split from the United States and turning toward China as a new ally. This move presents an obstacle to the United States’ efforts in the South China Sea, unsettling its position as the dominant power in the Pacific.

Will president Duterte be held accountable for the mass killings taking place in the Philippines? How did the disturbing violence currently sweeping the country begin, and what does it teach us about impunity, power and the spread of violence?

Chaired by Paul French, an author and widely published analyst and commentator on Asia, Asian politics and current affairs.

Speakers (full panel announced soon):

Gilberto G.B. Asuque is Deputy Chief of Mission of the Philippine Embassy

Vladimir Hernandez has been working as a journalist for over 15 years in Latin America, covering big stories like the drug war in Mexico, the years of Hugo Chavez in Venezuela and the Kirchner rule in Argentina.

Eric Gutierrez is Christian Aid’s Senior Governance Adviser, and author of the report “Drugs and Illicit Practices: Assessing its impact on governance and development”. He grew up in Manila, where he published on criminal entrepreneurs in illicit economies, and the conflict in the Muslim areas of southern Philippines. His PhD dissertation is entitled “Criminals Without Borders: Agrarian Change and Interdependency in Opium and Coca Producing Territories”, a comparative study of the political economy of illicit drugs in Afghanistan, Myanmar, Colombia, and Bolivia.

Daniel Berehulak (via Skype) is an independent Australian photojournalist and frequent contributor to the New York Times. He won the 2015 Pulitzer Prize for feature photography for his coverage of the Ebola epidemic in West Africa for the New York Time and was a 2011 Pulitzer Prize finalist for his coverage of the 2010 Pakistan floods. His photography has also earned three World Press Photo awards and the John Faber award from the Overseas Press Club. Berehulak recently spent one month in the Philippines where he covered Duerte’s drug war, photographing over 40 murder scenes.

Dr Tom Smith is an academic working for the University of Portsmouths team teaching at the Royal Air Force College Cranwell. His PhD focused on the muslim insurgencies in southern Thailand and the Philippines. Since May 2016 Tom has had 5 op-eds for the Guardian published, 2 in the Conversation and the Diplomat Magazine as well as several other international media outlets including the UN Dispatch podcast, all focused on the many complex issues in the Philippines.

Header image by Daniel Berehulak for the New York Times

The future of water isn’t a simple topic – it is vast and can often be overwhelming. During the discussion we will explore how this topic can be made accessible through the power of storytelling and film.

We will premiere four short documentaries which were produced as part of the global sH2Orts film competition, organised by WaterAid in partnership with the Public Media Alliance’s WorldView project. Each film offers a unique insight into the global water crisis and urges us to think about how we can respond to it.

The discussion which follows will focus on climate change, innovation, urbanisation and inequality – and how they relate to the global water crisis.

Panelists

Mark Galloway, Director of International Broadcasting Trust (Moderator)

Before joining IBT, Mark worked as a journalist, current affairs producer and documentary filmmaker. He’s been a Channel 4 Commissioning Editor, responsible for Education and Features, and has made films for ITV, Channel 4, the BBC, Discovery and Al Jazeera, winning more than a dozen national and international awards including a Gold Medal at the New York Film Festival, a Peabody Award and a BAFTA. At IBT, Mark is responsible for the day to day running of the organization, overall strategy, research and relations with IBT’s members.

Alok Jha is a journalist, broadcaster and author of The Water Book. He is the science correspondent at ITV News. Before that, he spent a decade at the Guardian and made programmes for the BBC.

Bethlehem Mengistu has over 12 years experience in the development sector, with special focus on gender equality, human rights, good governance and provision of basic services. She has worked within senior roles for organizations such as WaterAid, Care International, Action Aid and notable grassroots women’s organizations in East Africa. Bethlehem has solid experience in programme management, strategic campaigning and advocacy and policy analysis. Her educational background is in Law and Sociology and is currently working at WaterAid as Regional Advocacy Manager for East Africa and Acting Country Representative for WaterAid in Ethiopia.

Menka Sanghvi is an innovation researcher and facilitator focusing on global health and wellbeing. At the Humanitarian Innovation Fund she leads a dedicated fund to improve water, sanitation and hygiene conditions for vulnerable communities. In her role she supports a wide range of project teams in building ideas, testing them out, and scaling to achieve better impact. Menka brings over a decade of experience in delivering innovation projects with organisations such as Oxfam, Unilever, Barclays Bank, Impact Hub, and with local communities. She serves as a mentor for the Global Sustainability Jam, and a judge for the UNDP Equator Prize.

Sarah Mosses is CEO of Together Films, a new consultancy working with social issue film content to reach new audiences. She helps filmmakers craft Impact Distribution Campaigns to increase both their social impact, audience reach and revenue potential. As an award winning Producer, Sarah’s debut feature documentary They Will Have To Kill Us First had its World Premiere at SXSW 2015 and European Premiere at London Film Festival 2015. Sarah is a mentor for Documentary Campus, Eso Doc, Sheffield DocFest, On Screen Manitoba, working with emerging producers to enhance their film narrative and distribution/marketing potential.

Film lineup:

PLACE OF SWEET WATERS
Directed by: Sven Harding
2015/South Africa
www.svenharding.com

Place of Sweet Waters will take us to the underground tunnels which run beneath the city of Cape Town, transporting millions of litres of water from Table Mountain directly into the sea. As South Africa grapples with its worst drought in more than 30 years, the film raises questions about why this urban water source is being ‘wasted’.

BLANKETED SNOWS
Directed by: Vardan Hovhannisyan
2015/Armenia
caucadoconline.com/projects/author/25

Filmed in a stunning mountain region of Armenia, Blanketed Snows will encourage the panel to think about how climate change affects water supplies and livelihoods, and how the two are inextricably linked.

AUTOMATIC TUBIG MACHINE
Directed by: Giselle Santos
2015/Philippines
twitter.com/sampunglitro

Automatic Tubig Machine is a fly-on-the-wall documentary about remote communities in the Philippines who are using an innovative water supply technology. During this observational film we are offered a unique and fascinating insight into how children and adults gain access to this vital resource.

THE HOIST
Directed by: Ibrahim S Kamara
2015/Sierra Leone
http://www.wateraid.org/film-competition/sh2orts2016/winners

Set in Sierra Leone, The Hoist looks at the ingenuity of a local young woman who wants to simplify the time-consuming and physical task of collecting water. The film raises questions about the role new technology and innovation can play in the face of the global water crisis.

Every year thousands of organs are bought and sold on a black market that flourishes in dozens of countries, where the rule of law is a hostage to the dollar sign. Director Ric Esther Bienstock investigates the lucrative and shadowy world of black market organ trafficking.

With unprecedented access to all the players, Tales from the Organ Trade explores the legal, moral and ethical issues involved in this complex life and death business. From the Street-level brokers to the rogue surgeons; the impoverished men and women who are willing to sacrifice a slice of their own bodies for a quick payday; and the desperate patients who face the agonising choice of obeying the law or saving their lives. Speaking openly they reveal a harsh reality, where the villains often save lives and the medical establishment, helpless too, watches people die.

Directed by Ric Esther Bienstock
Duration: 82′
Year: 2013

In the latest attack on a journalist in the Philippines, Ronaldo Doong was attacked by two armed men while travelling on a highway in Colorado village in Digos City in the southern Philippines on Saturday. The brodcast journalist, who works for University of Mindanao’s Radyo Ukay, sustained bruises and cuts during the assault. The attackers had a handgun and pulled the trigger three times,

Doong said one of the men actually pulled the trigger of his handgun but it apparently jammed. “There were three clicks,” he said… The man, in an apparent show of frustration, kicked the motorcycle they were riding, causing him and Avila to hit the pavement… But he said he was sure their intention was to kill him. Before leaving, he said the armed men warned him that they would do him more harm if he were to continue broadcasting. "They told me I am already hurting some people because of my commentaries but they did not say who these people are," Doong said. link

The Philippines is one of the deadliest places for media workers. 63 have been killed in the line of work in the past eight years. This is not the first time a Radio Ukay journalist has been attacked. In 2006, Armando "Racman" Pace was shot dead in a similar drive by motorcycle attack. And just one week ago radio journalist Ernesto Rollin was gunned down in Misamis Occidental. The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines keeps a list of those killed. The 2008 "Attacks on the Press" report by the Committee to Protect Journalists quoted Supreme Court Chief Justice Reynato S. Puno attacking the culture of impunity that follows many of these attacks on journalists,

“Unless and until we do something to submerge this pernicious culture, these attacks will continue to litter our collective consciousness with the corpses of people who are bearers of truth.” link

Photo from Ares in the Wired Journalist network.

Jaime FlorCruz, CNN Beijing bureau chief, talks about life of a foreign correspondent in China in the Philippine Daily Inquirer. The 57 year old FlorCruz has been based in China for the past seven years,

“It took time and effort to overcome professional and nationality-related barriers, to stare down political biases and racial stereotypes … I did not hold an Ivy League degree, I did not attend journalism school and English was not my mother tongue,” FlorCruz said. According to him, CNN took a risk when it offered him the job in 2001. But the 24-hour Cable News Network believed in him and his expertise that it whisked him to New York for voice coaching. “They said, ‘Go, youâ€ll learn TV while doing it,â€â€ he recounted. link

Armed men seized the three journalists from a car in Maimbung town on Jolo island on Sunday morning, according to The Associated Press. The news team had arrived Saturday to cover an event at the invitation of Professor Octavio Dinampo of Mindanao State University, news reports said. One local press report said Dinampo was also missing. The Mindanao People’s Caucus released a statement condemning the abduction of Dinampo, the chair of their organization, who they described as a peace advocate, according to the Web site of regional weekly newspaper The Mindanao Examiner. link