MIGRANTE – Europe, a migrant advocacy organization for Filipinos in Western Europe based in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, will be spearheading the promotional tour of the critically-acclaimed Philippine film, Dukot (Disappearance) in several cities in Europe (Amsterdam, Utrecht and Den Haag in The Netherlands, London, Austria, Rome and Belgium).
Dukot is a story about the extra-judicial killings and enforced disappearances of members of the political opposition and government critics –a disturbing phenomena in recent years in the Philippines. It was produced and directed by Filipino film producers, directors and actors, who are also alarmed with the issue of political killings.
It was an official entry at the Montreal World Film Festival in 2009 and received critical acclaim. It was also shown in select theaters in the Philippines and has recently toured Japan, Hongkong, five major cities in Canada and in several major cities in the US. Its scheduled Europe tour begins in the last week of October and will end around December 10 – International Human Rights Day.
This film tour aims to bring awareness of the political killings currently taking place in the Philippines. Since 2001, over 200 cases of enforced disappearances and more than 1,000 cases of extrajudicial killings have been documented. Last November 2009, the Philippines made headlines worldwide for the massacre in Maguindanao of 57 people, including 30 journalists. We call for an immediate end to these atrocities.
MIGRANTE – Europe in partnership with Kabalikat, Pinay sa Holland (Gabriela), MIGRANTE Sectoral Party and MIGRANTE-Amsterdam, MIGRANTE-Den Haag, and the International Coordinating Council for Human Rights in the Philippines (ICCHRP) will be bringing Dukot to Netherlands.  The Amsterdam premier is on November 6, Saturday, 7:00 PM in #150 Wibaustraat Bldg, Amsterdam. We plan to sell tickets at € 10 each and come out with a souvenir program to augment our expenses.
All film screenings will be followed by a public forum with the presence of two human rights victims from the Philippines – Mrs. Empeno, mother of disappeared student activist, Karen Empeno, and Raymund Manalo, who was able to escape after being disappeared for almost two years. Film producer, Dennis Evangelista and lead actor, Allen Dizon, will be present during the screenings.
We wish to seek your support to ensure the success of this important event.
All funds raised from the screenings will support human rights organizations Karapatan, Desaparecidos and Hustisya in the Philippines as well as educational and advocacy programs in the field of human rights and rights of migrants in the Netherlands and the rest of Western Europe.
- Den Haag, Netherlands: November 5, 2010
- Amsterdam, Netherlands: November 6, 2010
- Utrecht, the Netherlands: November 9, 2010
