THE GUERRILLA IS A POET

SYNOPSIS

Charting the life of revolutionary Jose Maria Sison from his days as a youth in Pangasinan to his beginnings as a poet, until the times pushed him to take a stand against the impending dictatorship.

Directed by Sari Dalena & Kiri Dalena

AWARDS

Best Director, International Film Festival Manhattan
Best Actor, CineFilipino Film Festival
Best Supporting Actor, CineFilipino Film Festival
Best Editing, CineFilipino Film Festival

REVIEWS

“With so many controversial characters in the film, the Dalenas, however, managed to produce a cohesive film with distinct comfortable boundaries between reportage and propaganda. The cinematography, for one, was magical and the music of Deodato Arellano complemented it while capturing the tension pervading among the protagonists of the film.”
Pablo Tariman, Yahoo Philippines

“Directors Sari and Kiri Dalena have translated a thoughtful script into a poetic film. The Guerilla is a Poet is not a documentary. At least, not entirely and not in the traditional sense, though it features interviews with Jose Maria Sison and his wife Julie de Lima in The Netherlands, and Bernabe “Ka Dante” Buscayno in the Philippines… The storytelling, helped by the editing, is fluid. Yes, the lighting is soft and the camera work is thoughtful, yet the advocated armed struggle is clear… Despite Mao Zedong’s persecution of artists, the Filipino people’s revolution did make use of songs to carry their messages—and what are songs but poetry set to music?”
Mari-An Santos,, Pep.PH

“What makes this film work in different levels is its strong and well-written settings and characterizations, as well as its careful and skillful infusion of poetry and songs. The elements of humor and drama provide the right dynamics and humanity to the tale.”
Rianne Hill Soriano, Business World

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