A Thousand Cuts (2020 film)

{{short description|2020 Filipino-American film by Ramona S. Diaz}}

{{Infobox film

| name = A Thousand Cuts

| image = A Thousand Cuts poster.webp

| alt =

| caption = Official poster

| director = Ramona S. Diaz

| producer = {{Plainlist|

Julie Goldman
Christopher Clements
Carolyn Hepburn
Ramona Diaz
Leah Marino}}

| writer = Ramona S. Diaz{{cite web|title=A Thousand Cuts|url=https://www.sundance.org/projects/a-thousand-cuts|website=Sundance Institute|access-date=June 12, 2020|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200204201825/https://www.sundance.org/projects/a-thousand-cuts |archive-date=February 4, 2020 }}

| music = Sam Lipman

| cinematography = {{Plainlist|

Gabriel Goodenough
Jeffrey Johnson}}

| editing = Leah Marino

| production_companies = {{Plainlist|

| distributor = PBS Distribution

| released = {{Film date|2020|1|25|Sundance|2020|8|7|United States}}

| runtime = 99 minutes

| country = {{Plainlist|

Philippines
United States}}

| language = English

| budget =

| gross =

}}

A Thousand Cuts is a 2020 Philippine-American documentary film about Maria Ressa, the founder of the online news site Rappler.[https://www.npr.org/2020/02/03/802392333/a-thousand-cuts-documentary-tracks-disinformation-in-dutertes-philippines 'A Thousand Cuts' Documentary Tracks Disinformation In Dueterte's Philippines : NPR] Directed by Ramona Diaz, it explores the conflicts between the press and the Filipino government under President Rodrigo Duterte.[https://www.indiewire.com/video/a-thousand-cuts-documentary-philippines-1234601094/ In 'A Thousand Cuts' a Journalist Risks Her Life Exposing the Philippines' Dictator | IndieWire]

The film had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival on January 25, 2020. It was released in the United States in a limited release and virtual cinemas on August 7, 2020, by PBS Distribution, and was followed by a broadcast on the program Frontline on January 8, 2021.

Synopsis

The documentary focuses on press freedom in the Philippines and the conflicts between the press and the government, especially under president Rodrigo Duterte, as well as the role of social media in politics. It primarily follows Maria Ressa, founder of the online news site Rappler which initiated investigative reporting of extrajudicial killings as well as alleged abuses and corruption during Duterte's war on drugs; as well as the risks they had faced, including Ressa being subjected to scrutiny by Duterte and his supporters.{{cite news |last=Ordoña |first=Michael |url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2020-08-07/review-a-thousand-cuts-documentary-philippines |title=Review: As press freedom is threatened in the Philippines, democracy dies by 'A Thousand Cuts' |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |date=August 7, 2020 |access-date=January 13, 2024}}{{cite web |url=https://ff.hrw.org/film/thousand-cuts |title=A Thousand Cuts |website=HRW Film Festival |publisher=Human Rights Watch |date= |access-date=January 13, 2024}}

It also follows writers for the website including Pia Rañada, Patricia Evangelista and Rambo Talabong; Mocha Uson, Samira Gutoc, and Bato dela Rosa as they campaign for seats in the Philippine senate.

Release

The film had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival on January 25, 2020.{{cite web|url=https://www.sundance.org/projects/a-thousand-cuts|title=A Thousand Cuts|website=Sundance Film Festival|access-date=December 28, 2020}} It was also set to screen at South by Southwest in March 2020, however, the festival was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.{{cite web|url=https://schedule.sxsw.com/2020/films/2026735|title=A Thousand Cuts|website=South by Southwest|access-date=December 28, 2020}}{{cite web|url=https://www.sxsw.com/2020-event-update/|title=City of Austin Cancels SXSW March Events|website=South by Southwest|date=March 6, 2020|access-date=December 28, 2020}}

PBS Distribution and Frontline acquired U.S. distribution rights to the film, and briefly made the film available without charge for a limited time on YouTube for Philippine users on June 12 (Independence Day).{{cite web|last=Ramos|first=Dino-Ray|title='A Thousand Cuts': Frontline Acquires Ramona S. Diaz's Docu About War Between Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte And Press|url=https://deadline.com/2020/06/a-thousand-cuts-frontline-pbs-ramona-s-diaz-documentary-philippines-maria-ressa-pia-ranada-rodrigo-duterte-1202957097/|website=Deadline|publisher=Penske Business Media, LLC|access-date=June 12, 2020|date=June 11, 2020|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200611232035/https://deadline.com/2020/06/a-thousand-cuts-frontline-pbs-ramona-s-diaz-documentary-philippines-maria-ressa-pia-ranada-rodrigo-duterte-1202957097/ |archive-date=June 11, 2020 }} It also screened at AFI Docs on June 19, 2020.{{cite web|url=https://docs.afi.com/2020/feature-films-2020/a-thousand-cuts/|title=A Thousand Cuts|website=AFI Docs|access-date=December 28, 2020}}{{cite web|url=https://deadline.com/2020/06/afi-docs-2020-slate-1202953318/|title=AFI Docs Unveils 2020 Slate: '9 To 5: Story Of A Movement,' 'Women In Blue' Among Titles, Lee Grant To Be Honored|website=Deadline Hollywood|first=Ted|last=Johnson|date=June 8, 2020|access-date=December 28, 2020}}

The film was released in the United States through virtual cinema on August 7, 2020, followed by its Frontline broadcast on January 8, 2021.{{cite news|last=Husted|first=Anne|title=Chronicling the Current War on Press Freedom in the Philippines, "A THOUSAND CUTS" The New Documentary from Filmmaker Ramona S. Diaz Opens in Theaters and Virtual Cinemas Nationwide on August 7|url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/article/chronicling-the-current-war-on-press-freedom-in-the-philippines-a-thousand-cuts-the-new-documentary-from-filmmaker-ramona-s-diaz-opens-in-theaters-and-virtual-cinemas-nationwide-on/|work=Frontline {{pipe}} PBS|publisher=WGBH Educational Foundation|access-date=December 8, 2020|date=July 13, 2020}}

Diaz later revealed in The Washington Post interview that Frontline purchased the film's distribution rights for the Philippines as no broadcaster in the country was willing to air the documentary. Nevertheless, upon availability on YouTube, the documentary gained over 230,000 views within 24 hours.{{cite news |url=https://www.rappler.com/about/video-a-thousand-cuts-ramona-diaz-documentary/ |title=Watch: 'A Thousand Cuts,' a Ramona Diaz documentary about Rappler |work=Rappler |date=March 14, 2021 |access-date=January 13, 2024}}

Reception

A Thousand Cuts received positive reviews from film critics. It holds {{a or an|{{RT data|score}}}} approval rating on review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, based on {{RT data|count}} reviews, with an average of {{RT data|average}}. The site's critical consensus reads, "A sobering documentary and a stark warning, A Thousand Cuts underscores the importance of the press at a pivotal moment in world history."{{cite web|url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/a_thousand_cuts_2020|title=A Thousand Cuts (2020)|website=Rotten Tomatoes|publisher=Fandango|access-date={{RT data|access date}}}} On Metacritic, the film holds a rating of 81 out of 100, based on 8 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".{{cite web|url=https://www.metacritic.com/movie/a-thousand-cuts|title=A Thousand Cuts|website=Metacritic|access-date=December 28, 2020}}

Awards

A Thousand Cuts was named the best international feature at Doc Edge in New Zealand in June 2020,Citations:

{{cite news |last=Frater |first=Patrick |url=https://variety.com/2020/film/asia/doc-edge-thousand-cuts-maria-ressa-documentary-prize-1234642455/ |title=Maria Ressa Film 'A Thousand Cuts' Wins Top Prize at New Zealand's Doc Edge Festival |work=Variety |date=June 19, 2020 |access-date=January 12, 2024}}
{{cite news |url=https://www.rappler.com/entertainment/264348-a-thousand-cuts-wins-best-international-feature-doc-edge-festival-2020-new-zealand/ |title='A Thousand Cuts' wins best international feature at New Zealand film festival |work=Rappler |date=June 20, 2020 |access-date=January 12, 2024}} and was the recipient of the David Carr Award in the Montclair Film Festival in New Jersey in October.{{cite news |url=https://www.newjerseystage.com/articles/getarticle.php?titlelink=montclair-film-launches-virtual-cinema-with-a-thousand-cuts-available-for-free-this-week |title=Montclair Film Launches Virtual Cinema With "A Thousand Cuts" Available For Free This Week |work=New Jersey Stage |date=September 14, 2020 |access-date=January 12, 2024}} The documentary was among the three Filipino awardees for the 36th Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival in the same month, where it was given a Global Impact Award (Documentary Feature).{{cite news |last=Leyda-Aldemo |first=Alyssa |url=https://www.goodnewspilipinas.com/filipino-filmmakers-win-top-awards-at-los-angeles-film-festival/ |title=Filipino filmmakers win top awards at Los Angeles Film Festival |work=Good News Pilipinas |date=November 7, 2020 |access-date=January 12, 2024}}

In January 2021, the documentary was named one of the two Best Documentary recipients at the 30th Gotham Awards,Citations:

{{cite news |url=https://news.abs-cbn.com/life/01/13/21/documentary-on-maria-ressa-wins-at-gotham-awards-2021 |title=Documentary on Maria Ressa wins at Gotham Awards 2021 |work=ABS-CBN News |date=January 13, 2021 |access-date=January 12, 2024}}
{{cite news |url=https://www.rappler.com/entertainment/movies/thousand-cuts-wins-best-documentary-gotham-awards-2021/ |title='A Thousand Cuts' wins Best Documentary at Gotham Awards 2021 |work=Rappler |date=January 12, 2021 |access-date=January 12, 2024}} and was later selected Best Documentary Feature in the inaugural Gold List.{{cite news |last=Ramos |first=Dino-Ray |url=https://deadline.com/2021/01/gold-open-cape-gold-list-asian-american-pacific-islander-minari-yellow-rose-the-half-of-it-sound-of-metal-the-white-tiger-1234679725/ |title=Gold Open Teams With CAPE For Inaugural Gold List To Honor Asian And Pacific Islanders In Film |work=Deadline Hollywood |date=January 25, 2021 |access-date=January 12, 2024}}

In 2022, it was given three recognitions: in May, the annual Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Award in the International TV category;{{cite news |last=Husted |first=Anne |url=https://usa.inquirer.net/101071/ramona-diazs-a-thousand-cuts-spotlighting-maria-ressa-wins-rfk-journalism-award |title=Ramona Diaz's 'A Thousand Cuts' spotlighting Maria Ressa wins RFK Journalism Award |work=Inquirer.net |date=May 25, 2022 |access-date=June 6, 2022}} in June, that year's Peabody Award in the documentary category;{{cite news |last=Husted |first=Anne |url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/article/frontline-documentary-a-thousand-cuts-wins-peabody-award/ |title=FRONTLINE's 'A Thousand Cuts' Wins Peabody Award |work=PBS |date=June 8, 2022 |access-date=June 8, 2022}} and in September, the Outstanding Social Issue Documentary at the annual News and Documentary Emmys.Citations:

{{cite news |url=https://www.rappler.com/entertainment/movies/a-thousand-cuts-wins-news-emmy-outstanding-social-issue-documentary-2022/ |title='A Thousand Cuts' wins News Emmy for Outstanding Social Issue Documentary |work=Rappler |date=September 30, 2022 |access-date=October 1, 2022}}
{{cite news |url=https://news.abs-cbn.com/entertainment/10/01/22/news-emmys-a-thousand-cuts-wins-best-social-issue-docu |title='A Thousand Cuts' wins News Emmy for Outstanding Social Issue Documentary |work=ABS-CBN News |date=October 1, 2022 |access-date=October 1, 2022}}
[https://theemmys.tv/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/43rd-Annual-Documentaries-Winners-9-29-22-REV-11.14-Final.pdf WINNERS FOR THE DOCUMENTARY CATEGORIES OF THE 43rd ANNUAL NEWS & DOCUMENTARY EMMY AWARDS ANNOUNCED] The first two were the Frontline's twentieth and twenty-seventh wins from the said award-giving bodies, respectively.

Aside from awards, the documentary was named one of The Unforgettables, a non-competitive honor, in the 13th Cinema Eye Honors in New York City in March 2021.{{cite news |last=Pond |first=Steve |url=https://www.thewrap.com/collective-named-top-documentary-at-cinema-eye-honors/ |title='Collective' Named Top Documentary at Cinema Eye Honors |work=TheWrap |date=March 9, 2021 |access-date=January 13, 2024}} It was given special mention for the Grand Prix – Bank Millennium Award at the 18th edition of Millennium Docs Against Gravity in September.{{cite news |last=Bałaga |first=Marta |url=https://variety.com/2021/film/global/flee-millennium-docs-against-gravity-1235061273/ |title=Sundance Breakout 'Flee' Wins Top Prize at Millennium Docs Against Gravity |work=Variety |date=September 10, 2021 |access-date=January 13, 2024}}

The documentary was among those honored at the National Commission for Culture and the Arts' 2023 Ani ng Dangal awarding ceremony, held in Malacañang Palace in the Philippines on February 22.{{cite news |url=https://www.rappler.com/life-and-style/arts-culture/thousand-cuts-dolly-de-leon-honored-malacanang-ani-ng-dangal-2023/ |title='A Thousand Cuts,' Dolly de Leon honored in Malacañang during Ani ng Dangal |work=Rappler |date=February 22, 2023 |access-date=October 1, 2022}}