Daang Dokyu launches online database for PH documentaries
The domain that hosts Philippine documentary film festivals is expanding its reach by providing a public database of a century’s worth of documentaries from and about the Philippines, produced for cinema, television, art, and education, gathered all in one virtual space.
DaangDokyu.ph aims to elevate the appreciation of locally produced documentaries by making these educational films easier for viewers to find.
Through the growing public database with detailed search functions, aided by tags and metadata, anyone can easily search for Philippine documentaries online and find out where to watch or stream them.
The searchable database, which was made possible by a grant from FilDocs and the Cultural Center of the Philippines, also makes it more convenient for creators to share their work. The site features a submission tool through which filmmakers can add their film to the database.
Similar to other online movie databases, each film will have its own page, containing its creative and technical information, as well as promotional materials and downloads.
Viewers can easily search the database by title, director, content, location, language, or style, and dive deep into each film. The site also displays links to films that are already streaming on other platforms such as Vimeo and YouTube.
For instance, the site shows that Lauren Greenfield's 2019 documentary The Kingmaker, which provides an extraordinary look into the controversial political career of former first lady Imelda Marcos, can be watched free on Vimeo and as part of Dokyu Power, an ongoing virtual film festival running until April 9, 2022.
Interested parties can also use the site to organize screenings subject to the approval of the film distributors or copyright holders of all documentaries in the database.
According to filmmaker and Project Director for DaangDokyu.ph, Jewel Maranan, documentaries can help "shed light on present issues and contemporary social conditions" and "offer a way of approaching social memory.”
It was Maranan’s initiative to map the Philippine documentary landscape that forged the path for DaangDokyu.ph. After gathering over 1,500 titles, launching the online database is the next step in this difficult process of looking back.
“Films done more than 30 years ago, during and after the Marcos dictatorship, have been circulating on social media recently and are being used as reference to inform current debates surrounding the coming elections," said Maranan.
"When organized and presented systematically, documentaries, old and new, can become a staple material for social education. It is often claimed that Filipinos never learn from the past, or that Filipinos are forgetful. What is not said often enough is that remembering and looking back on the past are not simple. Our collective lessons and memory have to continuously be made accessible to the new generation. And documentaries are one powerful way of doing this,” she added.
With the database available for the viewers to explore and for creators to expand, DaangDokyu.ph offers a way of looking back and learning collectively.
On top of providing access to a wealth of information about Filipino documentaries, DaangDokyu.ph also co-hosts special programs with partner organizations who are on the same mission against misinformation.
Until April 9, the online festival Dokyu Power (The Power of Documentary), will be streaming some of the most powerful documentaries from around the world to encourage meaningful and informed political discourse on the power of people’s unity and social action.
Presented by FilDocs (the team that organized the 2020 Daang Dokyu Festival) and DAKILA, and supported by Purin Pictures, Active Vista, MOOV Cinema Centenario, and Move.PH, Dokyu Power is streaming for FREE until April 9 through the Cinema Centenario site: https://cinemacentenario.com/