Delikado

Karl Malakunas

Philippines

Topics

Environment, Human Rights, Justice, Rights, Rodrigo Duterte, Stop The Killings, War on Drugs

Director

Karl Malakunas

Writer

Laura Nix

Director of Photography

Tom Bannigan ACS

Editor

Eric Daniel Metzgar

Michael Collins

Producer

Kara Magsanoc-Alikpala

Karl Malakunas

Marty Syjuco

Michael Collins

Sound Design

Michael ‘Gonzo’ Gandsey

Cast

Atty. Bobby Chan

Tata Balladares

Nieves Rosento

Kap. Ruben Arzaga

Production Companies

Felt Films
ITVS International
Naked Edge Films
Narravi Films
P.O.V./American Documentary
Thoughtful Robot Productions

Total Running Time

94 Minutes

Language

English, Tagalog

Subtitles

English

Palawan appears to be an idyllic tropical island. Its powder-white beaches and lush forests have made it one of Asia’s hottest new tourist destinations. But for a tiny network of environmental crusaders and vigilantes trying to protect its spectacular natural resources, it is more akin to a battlefield. DELIKADO follows Bobby, Tata and Nieves, three magnetic leaders of this network, as they risk their lives in David versus Goliath-style struggles trying to stop politicians and businessmen from destroying the Philippines’ “last ecological frontier”.

It is a timely film emblematic of the struggles globally for land defenders as they are being killed in record numbers trying to save natural resources from being plundered by corporations and governments. As the world faces its sixth-mass extinction and the climate emergency worsens. It is also a unique expose of President Rodrigo Duterte’s “war on drugs’ in the Philippines, which has claimed thousands of lives and the International Criminal Court of Justice has said may amount to a crime against humanity. DELIKADO shows the drug war is used as a tool for politicians to control the levers of economic and political power. DELIKADO offers a story of courage and resilience to inspire others into action.

About the Director

Karl is a filmmaker and journalist who has been based in Asia—covering environmental issues, conflict, natural disasters and political upheavals—for two decades. Karl is the Asia-Pacific Deputy-Editor-In-Chief for Agence France-Presse based in Hong Kong. He is a Sundance Institute Documentary Film Program Fellow and a recipient of the SFFILM Vulcan Productions Environmental Fellowship. After living in the Philippines for eight years while working as Manila Bureau Chief for AFP, Karl has drawn on his experiences, contacts and deep inside knowledge of the country to make DELIKADO, his first feature film. His environmental reporting around the world has included covering the 2015 UN Climate Change Conference in Paris, the aftermath of Super Typhoon Haiyan in the eastern Philippines, and the coal-powered rise of China’s economy.

Festival and Awards

Cinemalaya 2022, Manila, Philippines
Melbourne International Film Festival 2022, Melbourne, Australia
Doc Edge Festival 2022, Auckland and Wellington, New Zealand
Sheffield DocFest 2022, Sheffield, UK
Sydney Film Festival 2022, Sydney, Australia
MountainFilm 2022, Telluride, USA
Human Rights Watch Film Festival 2022, New York, USA
Asian Pacific Film Festival 2022, Los Angeles, USA
HotDocs 2022, Toronto, Canada

Reviews

“Delikado is an important and powerful film. The tension is palpable throughout… but so is the incredible courage of the environmental defenders portrayed.”

– Luciana Tellez-Chavez, Researcher, Environment and Human Rights Division, Human Rights Watch

Trailer

How can I watch?

Continued education and actions on Martial Law

Donec ultrices nulla vitae ex rutrum gravida. Etiam diam enim, tristique aliquet magna sed, tincidunt cursus enim. In hac habitasse platea dictumst. Nulla rutrum magna sit amet consequat bibendum. Curabitur facilisis, massa eu posuere tincidunt, ex nunc fringilla velit, sit amet fringilla ante nisl sed odio.

Aenean vulputate sit amet ante eu fringilla. Nullam sollicitudin tellus eget dolor gravida tincidunt. Donec feugiat tristique tortor, eu convallis tortor eleifend quis. Duis ac tincidunt orci, non feugiat nulla. Nulla porttitor magna vitae facilisis dapibus. Aenean pretiu.

Check out other AVX Films we are screening

Active Vista X Gawad Alternatibo

Active Vista and Gawad Alternatibo features short films that tell compelling stories from different frames of human struggles.

Active Vista X Probe Media: Revisiting History

In this curated playlist by Probe Archives, we give you access to documentaries released from 1988 to 2004. It covers almost 20 years of authoritarian influence and controversy, even after the protracted and bloody rule of former Philippine president and dictator Ferdinand Marcos.

It’s Raining Frogs Outside

The world is about to end. Maya is forced to go home to Zambales. Now, she must confront a house that terrorizes her as frogs rain outside.

Skylab

The year is 1979, the Skylab satellite is falling to Earth. In the days leading up to the crash, two troubled boys wait for doomsday, only to realize that darker forces are threatening them.

Bullet-Laced Dreams

Bullet-Laced Dreams follows the Lumad children in Mindanao as they escape from military rule due to the incessant armed conflicts between the government & communist rebels.

About Us

Active Vista is a learning center established by DAKILA to support its mission of empowering citizens to become agents of social change. It organizes activities geared towards the development of the innate value of arts, media and popular culture as an educational medium to shape critical thought, influence culture, and foster social consciousness and action.

Privacy Policy