Filipino short film on disinformation competes at Grifo Int’l Filmfest in Italy

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Out of more than 1,800 global entries, Richard Soriano Legaspi’s short film “Panulukan” (Crossroads) was recently selected to compete at the Grifo International Film Festival in Italy.

The film, which tackles the heavy themes of disinformation and the Duterte administration’s war on drugs, was screened at the Teatro Comunale Tullio Giacconi in the town of Chiaravalle, within the Province of Ancona in the Marche region of Italy.

The narrative follows four strangers traveling home to Manila who discover they are on entirely opposed paths. Two are paid trolls defending the state’s brutal campaign, while the other two are staunch critics of the violence.

Legaspi’s work explores the dangerous polarization of Filipinos on social media and the exploitation of online networks to fuel disinformation.

“I see this film as a mirror held up to our society, urging us to reflect on the impact of our digital choices,” Legaspi shared. “Cinema possesses the unique strength to trigger social transformation and advocate for digital rights. If we use this platform wisely, we can drive the significant change our community needs.”

Starring Kelvin Vistan, Reiner Grospe, Jeremy Mayores, and Maricel Manuntag, the short film was developed as a competitive grant recipient of EngageMedia’s Tech Tales: Films about Digital Rights in the Asia-Pacific in 2021.

“In an era shadowed by historical distortion and insidious misinformation, this story can act as a guide for our moral compass,” the filmmaker added. “It’s about finding our way through the fog of uncertainty.”

This selection marks a significant return to Italy for the film, which was previously part of the Ways of Becoming Exhibition at UNIDEE 2024. Legaspi, a former UNESCO Laureate scholarship recipient and resident artist at the Università delle Idee, holds a deep-rooted connection to the country.

Legaspi emphasized the role of the creative community, “As storytellers and visionaries, our bravery in exposing the truth today will ultimately define the history we leave behind. I hope this work inspires other artists to use their voices to amplify what is real and just.”

Beyond “Panulukan,” Legaspi is currently developing the full-length narrative “The Legend of the Wild Rose Mallow,” which has been selected as one of the 20 semifinalists of the first-ever ISAPELIKULA, the new film funding and lab program of the Film Development Council of the Philippines, and was developed through the FDCP’s CreatePH Scriptwriting Lab.

Produced by Red Room Media Productions in collaboration with Engaged Media, “Panulukan” previously competed at the 15th EDUKINO-Empowering Film Festival in Poland, an event renowned for showcasing socially conscious cinema.

Legaspi is an interdisciplinary artist whose work focuses on communal issues and social transformation. A graduate of the University of the East Caloocan and a fellow of the Asian Film Academy in Busan, his work has been showcased in major galleries across France, Peru, Germany, and Taiwan.