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SCREEN CAPTURE / A THOUSAND CUTS Journalist Maria Ressa faces a host of charges in the Philippines. |
No television station in the Philippines was daring enough to air A Thousand Cuts, an award-winning documentary critical of President Rodrigo Duterte's attempts to suppress press freedom. The people of the Philippines will, at last, have the opportunity to view the film about their own country.
“After a year of screening for audiences around the world — from New Zealand to North America, from Israel to the Netherlands, A Thousand Cuts is finally coming home. I’m so grateful that Frontline (PBS) stepped up to the plate to make the film available to audiences in the Philippines where it matters most,” says filmmaker Ramona Diaz.
PBS' Frontline, the longest-running investigative documentary series, announced Tuesday, March 2, that it has acquired full-streaming rights for the award-winning film A Thousand Cuts in the Philippines, a country experiencing an escalating war between the government and the press.
The important acquisition will make the film accessible March 13 on PBS.org/frontline and YouTube to the people in the Philippines who are most impacted by the issues in this story. The news comes after Philippine distributors and TV did not license the film.
A Thousand Cuts chronicles the story of Filipino American journalist Maria Ressa, a top target of Duterte’s crackdown on the news media. Ressa and her colleagues have been at the forefront of reporting on Duterte’s brutal war on drugs and she has endured harassment, arrests, and a cyber libel conviction that could send her to prison. In January, she posted bail for her tenth arrest warrant.
The film will begin streaming in the Philippines on Saturday, March 13. At 9 pm PHT/8am EST on March 13, Frontline will host a live YouTube roundtable discussion with Ressa, Diaz and Frontline’s Executive Producer, Raney Aronson-Rath. The roundtable will explore the importance of sharing A Thousand Cuts with Filipino audiences as Ressa’s legal situation continues to unfold.
The 2020 Sundance Film Festival documentary made its U.S. broadcast debut on Frontline (PBS) in January this year, and is currently available to stream in North America. By securing full streaming rights on both PBS.org/frontline and YouTube, the Philippine people can stream A Thousand Cuts in its entirety and learn about the implications for democracy when press freedom is threatened — a story that is increasingly vital, as Duterte has taken severe measures to thwart journalists.
“At Frontline, we felt we needed to do whatever we could to make this story available to the Filipino people,” says Frontline Executive Producer Raney Aronson-Rath. “We’ve seen a growing desire to have A Thousand Cuts be more permanently accessible in the Philippines, especially as Maria’s legal situation continues to worsen. We’re proud we can make Ramona’s documentary available to the community it impacts the most.”
Prior to its PBS broadcast, A Thousand Cuts completed a robust festival run — including Sundance Film Festival, SXSW Film Festival and AFI DOCS — and a nation-wide virtual theatrical release last summer. The New York Times calls A Thousand Cuts “absorbing” (Critic’s Pick), The Washington Post says the documentary is “utterly urgent” and The Hollywood Reporter describes the film as “essential.”
A Thousand Cuts is now streaming online in North America on pbs.org/frontline and YouTube. The film is also available to stream in the PBS Video App and on PBS Documentaries Prime Video Channel.
The important acquisition will make the film accessible March 13 on PBS.org/frontline and YouTube to the people in the Philippines who are most impacted by the issues in this story. The news comes after Philippine distributors and TV did not license the film.
A Thousand Cuts chronicles the story of Filipino American journalist Maria Ressa, a top target of Duterte’s crackdown on the news media. Ressa and her colleagues have been at the forefront of reporting on Duterte’s brutal war on drugs and she has endured harassment, arrests, and a cyber libel conviction that could send her to prison. In January, she posted bail for her tenth arrest warrant.
The film will begin streaming in the Philippines on Saturday, March 13. At 9 pm PHT/8am EST on March 13, Frontline will host a live YouTube roundtable discussion with Ressa, Diaz and Frontline’s Executive Producer, Raney Aronson-Rath. The roundtable will explore the importance of sharing A Thousand Cuts with Filipino audiences as Ressa’s legal situation continues to unfold.
The 2020 Sundance Film Festival documentary made its U.S. broadcast debut on Frontline (PBS) in January this year, and is currently available to stream in North America. By securing full streaming rights on both PBS.org/frontline and YouTube, the Philippine people can stream A Thousand Cuts in its entirety and learn about the implications for democracy when press freedom is threatened — a story that is increasingly vital, as Duterte has taken severe measures to thwart journalists.
“At Frontline, we felt we needed to do whatever we could to make this story available to the Filipino people,” says Frontline Executive Producer Raney Aronson-Rath. “We’ve seen a growing desire to have A Thousand Cuts be more permanently accessible in the Philippines, especially as Maria’s legal situation continues to worsen. We’re proud we can make Ramona’s documentary available to the community it impacts the most.”
Prior to its PBS broadcast, A Thousand Cuts completed a robust festival run — including Sundance Film Festival, SXSW Film Festival and AFI DOCS — and a nation-wide virtual theatrical release last summer. The New York Times calls A Thousand Cuts “absorbing” (Critic’s Pick), The Washington Post says the documentary is “utterly urgent” and The Hollywood Reporter describes the film as “essential.”
A Thousand Cuts is now streaming online in North America on pbs.org/frontline and YouTube. The film is also available to stream in the PBS Video App and on PBS Documentaries Prime Video Channel.
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