The 2019 documentary “The Kingmaker” is now available via transactional video-on-demand services Apple TV and Vimeo after it was announced that its originally-scheduled premiere on the local platform iWant has been postponed to a later date.
Initially, “The Kingmaker” was set to enter the Philippine online streaming scene for the first time beginning this May 15 through an exclusive run on iWant.
Receiving critical acclaim, nominations and wins on various international film festivals like the Warsaw International Film Festival in 2019, the documentary garnered attention for its focus on former First Lady Imelda Marcos’ narration of her husband and former Philippine president Ferdinand Marcos’ dictatorship.
Written and directed by American documentary photographer and filmmaker Lauren Greenfield, “The Kingmaker” also tackled the former First Lady’s efforts to reclaim their family’s political power following their fall during the People Power era. Moreover, the documentary chronicled the lasting influence of the Marcos family on the country decades after the former president’s dictatorial reign ended.
Aside from Imelda Marcos herself, the documentary also features the family’s political rivals as well as survivors of the Martial Law.
In an interview with The Guardian, Greenfield admitted that she “tried to show [Imelda’s] humanity, which comes out more when looking at her early life. She was born an orphan, made a life for herself, lived through her husband’s constant cheating.”
However, she also noted that the former First Lady is also “responsible for terrible things. For Imelda, over the years, it wasn’t clear whether she was just the wife or really part of it all. This film confirms that she had agency, and that she has it now.”
[READ: Lauren Greenfield’s newest documentary traces the Marcos family’s revision of the Martial Law narrative]The film, which made its grand debut internationally in August 2019 at the 76th Venice Film Festival and later made its way to the Philippines in January 2020, will be available exclusively through iWant, with subscriptions available at P15 per day, P60 per week and P120 per month.
Aside from “The Kingmaker,” other documentaries such as “Wreck Hunter,” and “Heroes in the Hot Zone,” the story of Filipino doctors’ struggles at the frontline during the COVID-19 pandemic titled will also be available for streaming on iWant starting this May.
Header photo courtesy of Lauren Greenfield
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