And So It Begins

In a decades-long nonfiction saga of the Philippines, director Ramona Diaz presents the latest chapter on her homeland as the despotic reign of President Rodrigo Duterte is coming to an end. And So It Begins proffers unbridled access to all the key players in the months leading up to the country’s 2022 presidential election. With her keen observational eye and deep knowledge of the socio-political history and landscape, Diaz continues to find her own forms of storytelling as political disruption.

Taking place in the thick of the Covid pandemic, And So It Begins is a shape-shifting story of the raucous collective act of joy expressed in a quirky resistance movement that pits itself against the haunting specter of increasing autocracy. Weaving together multiple narratives against the backdrop of a gloves-off campaign for the most powerful office in the land, what emerges is a dazzling cinematic portrait of a beleaguered nation fighting for its very soul.