A Thousand Cuts

As President Duterte’s reign of terror in the Philippines continues seemingly unchecked and underreported, his most powerful and influential foe is Maria Ressa, the fearless journalist who co-founded the online news site Rappler. Ramona S. Diaz’s riveting and immersive documentary follows both Duterte’s supporters and detractors during the mid-term campaign of 2019, but it is Ressa who becomes the main protagonist as she challenges Duterte’s authority and exposes misinformation, criminality, and human rights abuses in the Philippines.

“Ramona S. Diaz’s pacy, engrossing, galvanizing film A Thousand Cuts feels more like a political thriller than an off-the-cuff investigation into embattled journalism in the Philippines, but Ressa’s seemingly boundless energy, good humor, and intelligence make her basically a power plant for the manufacture of inspiration in embattled times.  You may go in knowing little about her, but you come out more profoundly aware than ever of the gathering darkness of our current geopolitical moment, and more fervently grateful that there are torchbearers like Maria Ressa to lead us to the light.” –Jessica Kiang, Variety