As ‘Alipato at Muog’ continues to reap recognition from critics and audiences a year after its release, its director JL Burgos said its story and the search for his missing brother Jonas will continue.
The docu-film emerged as the biggest winner of the 48th Gawad Urian Awards, winning the Best Film, Best Editing, and Best Documentary awards. Last August, it also bagged the Best Picture at the 73rd Filipino Academy of Movie Arts and Sciences (Famas) Awards.
‘Nakakataba talaga siya ng puso, nakakataas ng ego rin (Yes, it warms my heart. It boosts my ego, too), but what keeps us grounded is to tell the stories of those who disappeared,’ JL told Inquirer Entertainment in a chance interview after the Gawad Urian awards ceremony on Saturday, Oct. 11.
‘Oo, nakakataba ng puso ang ganitong mga parangal (receiving these awards makes my heart happy), but the story is not yet over. The search for Jonas continues. The search for justice continues,’ he continued.
Since its premiere at the 2024 Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival, ‘Alipato at Muog’ has been through a bittersweet journey, having faced an ‘X’ rating from the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB). It tells the story of the disappearance of JL’s brother Jonas, which the case was finalized in 2017 in favor of the Burgos family before the Supreme Court. With this in mind, the filmmaker said the point of ‘Alipato at Muog’ was to widen the public’s awareness of desaparecidos (or victims of enforced disappearances). He also explained that he doesn’t expect the docu-film to ‘change the world,’ but it will serve as a reminder of why these kinds of stories need to be told.
‘Konti lang ang nakakaalam ng kwento ng mga desaparecidos. Sila ay numero lang. Ang mga ganitong klaseng kwento ay pagpapakilala kung sino sila bago sila mawala at kung sino ang mga perpetrators,’ he said.
‘Ang tingin namin, pinapatahimik ang mga [kwento] ng mga disappeared, is gusto pa rin ng makapangyarihan ay manatili sa kapangyarihan. Kailangan siyang maikwento. We’re not expecting the film to change the world, but at least, magbigay kami ng konting kaalaman kung anong nangyayari,’ he further explained.
(Only a few people know the stories of the disappeared. For them, they are just mere numbers. These kinds of stories introduce them before they disappeared, and their perpetrators. For me, these kinds of stories are silenced because those in power want to maintain their standing. But they deserve to be told. We’re not expecting the film to change the world, but at least, we can share our knowledge on what’s happening.) When asked why stories like ‘Alipato at Muog’ continue to face censorship, JL said matter-of-factly that ‘people in power don’t want dissent.’ Despite this, he hoped the docu-film’s success was a reminder of why Filipino documentaries and ‘braver films? need bigger platforms to tell their stories.
‘The people in power wants to maintain the status. Ito ang mga nakikinabang sa flood control, porsyento nila sa raket, at kung sino man ang tumutol sa pagnanakaw sa ating lipunan, nais nilang patahimikin. They don’t want dissent. They don’t want to expose the [atrocities],’ he said. ‘Kung anong nakikita natin sa lipunan ngayon, ginagawa nila ang pagpapatahimik sa mga nais tumutol sa ganitong klaseng patakaran.’
(The people in power want to maintain the status quo. These are people who benefit from flood control projects, questionable practices, and these thieves want to silence those who aren’t in favor of their actions. They don’t want dissent. They don’t want to expose the atrocities. What we see in society today is the silencing of those who are against their ways.’
JL is also preparing for his next project, a full-length film called ‘Ganggang,’ which is an entry to the 2026 iteration of the Cinemalaya Film Festival