I had the pleasure of seeing Batad at the Phuket Film Festival last year and got to meet the director, art director, etc. I learned that this film was made in an extremely remote area under great difficulty and for practically no money, which makes its quality and appeal even more extraordinary. It was truly a labor of love. Of course none of that matters. What matters is what we see realized on the screen. and what we see there is quite wonderful. I'm just a white American guy, visiting the film festival as a tourist and I was just as moved by this story of people eking out a living in this remote and backward area as was my Filipino partner who accompanied me to this film. The universality of the film's theme resonated with both of us. It was quite unforgettable and even now we talk about the film and how it affected us.
Review of Batad
