Awards for A House in Pieces

Happy to announce that A House in Pieces (Philippines/Germany 2020) which I co-directed with Jean Claire Dy has won the Golden Hercules awards at Kassel Dokfest and Best Documentary Award at Mimesis Documentary Festival.

We’re grateful to the juries for truly “seeing” our film, and here’s some of what they had to say:

“In a documentary that is just as moving as it is magnificent in technical design, the filmmakers show us the people who had to deal with the act of terrosim and its consequences. Precisely through the unagitated, unsentimental narrative style, we feel the fear of protagonist Yusop, attempts a new beginning within eyeshot of the city centre, but nonetheless gets stuck given the overpowering finality of the destruction. ‘As long as you treat them well, they will always return’ says Yusop about his doves. The film leaves us with an immediate mixture of empathy for its protagonists and a deep grief given their difficult situation.”(Kassel Dokfest Jury)

There is an obvious gracefulness to this film –nothing awkward or forced in the photography or storytelling, and the most deeply touching moments seemed to be picked up out of thin air and handled so lightly in the editing. The filmmakers were able to focus on the larger narrative of violence and tragic loss without neglecting the smaller, mundane moments through which this traumatic experience is expressed in individual lives. (Mimesis Features Jury)

Watch our film trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ayBArZ5vGqA