Portraits of a pandemic: Films on the unequal impact of COVID-19 in the Asia-Pacific · Global Voices
One of the films in the playlist featured Filipino activist <PERSON>, whose detention and the death of her three-month-old baby became a symbol of political repression in the Philippines during the pandemic. Photo by Kodao Productions, a content partner of Global Voices, used with permission
This playlist is from Cinemata, a platform for social and environmental films about the Asia-Pacific. It is a project of EngageMedia, a nonprofit that promotes digital rights, open and secure technology, and social issue documentary. This is edited and republished as part of a content-sharing agreement with Global Voices.
The COVID-19 pandemic continues to pose huge global and local challenges, greatly affecting groups in vulnerable situations, including frontline workers, people living in poverty, political activists, and indigenous communities. Since the start of the crisis, marginalised groups have borne the brunt of the pandemic’s health, social, and economic impact. As year two of the global outbreak draws to a close, these issues remain unaddressed. It becomes even more necessary to continue capturing and documenting the times we are living in.
EngageMedia curates a collection of short films that magnifies the daily struggles of individuals and communities during these challenging times, and reflects the wide-ranging impact of the pandemic in ways that are both apparent and invisible.
“Portraits of a Pandemic” holds space for stories that portray with care and nuance the effects of the COVID-19 crisis in the Asia-Pacific. 803
The 10 films from the Philippines, Indonesia, Bangladesh, and Cambodia cover stories on a range of human rights abuses during the pandemic, the impact of harsh lockdown measures, curtailment of media, inadequate health care and food insecurity for marginalised communities.
Before stepping into the new year, there is no better time to ask ourselves: How do we move forward from here? How do we rise and build a better society going forward? We hope that these films would encourage people to reflect on the unequal impact of the pandemic on various segments of society, and inspire collective action and advocacy.
Check out these films:
Bangladesh: Inside Out । Tong Isolation Diary Quarantine
Through fragments of black and white images, poet and photographer <PERSON> reflects on isolation, confinement and life during the pandemic.
“Inside Out” is part of the “Tong Isolation Diary” series featuring works from filmmakers from Bangladesh as they portray different characters and their lives in the COVID-19 pandemic. The film has also been released in a UK-based online film festival called “Once a Week.”
Philippines: Nasaan sila, Nasaan ang Virus? (Where are they? Where is the virus?)
Facing discrimination and relying on the kindness of strangers, a group of indigenous Badjao in an Agusan del Sur town in Mindanao island, Philippines, struggles to survive the pandemic as quarantine measures are heightened.
“Nasaan sila, Nasaan ang Virus?” means “Where are they? Where is the virus?”.
Indigenous people like the Badjaos face disproportionate risks during health emergencies, prompting them to seek their own solutions and rely on traditional knowledge and practices to survive.
With the theme Bilang Nilalang (Reduced to Numbers), The 4th Quisumbing-Escandor Film Festival for Health highlights the stories and experiences of Filipinos during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Victim Diaries: Tuniyah, Indonesia
<PERSON> worked in a company that produces asbestos products for many years. The company did not require its workers to wear the respirator masks appropriate for asbestos exposure. In 2004, she was diagnosed with asbestosis. With the spread of COVID-19 in Indonesia, victims like <PERSON> are at high risk.
Filmed during the lockdown by their co-workers, family members, and the survivors themselves, Victim Diaries documents the situation of occupational and environmental victims under the pandemic.
Philippines: River of Tears and Rage
Women's rights activist <PERSON> was arrested by Manila police on suspected trumped-up charges a month into her pregnancy. In one of the world's most crowded prisons, <PERSON> endured a difficult pregnancy and gave birth to <PERSON>. Local courts turned down pleas to allow mother and child to stay together. Denied her mother's care, baby <PERSON> died at only three months old.
“River of Tears and Rage” is a film culled from Kodao Productions’ Facebook Live coverage of baby <PERSON>'s wake and burial. 803