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THE PHILIPPINE ONLINE PREMIERE

Extended online screening until December 31, 2020
https://youtu.be/xy0mohAZ3qc

Viewers are encouraged to donate and raise funds for Action Against Hunger Philippines’ fight against malnutrition in the country.

Register now to more about the film and our work in the Philippines.

FILM BASED ON POST-CONFLICT MARAWI WINS BEST FILM AND BEST ACTOR IN INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL

The Invisible Monster, a story of the Filipino spirit finding hope and happiness amidst poverty, loss, war, and hunger has won the Jury Award for Best Short Film from this year’s Festival Iberoamericano de Cortometrajes de ABC (FIBABC). Aminodin Munder, who played his namesake in the film, won Best Actor. The award was presented during the online FIBABC awards gala on December 14, 2020.

The 32-minute film was shot in post-conflict Marawi City with actual residents of Barangay Papandayan-Caniogan, starring as actors. The intent was to mobilize people against the extreme form of hunger – malnutrition, a disease that affects 4 million Filipino children. The film was directed by Oscar-nominated filmmaker Javier Fesser, and renowned writer and radio host Guillermo Fesser through collaboration with Action Against Hunger, a global humanitarian organization. The film is currently showing online until December 31.

Aminodin, along with Yasser Mama, one of the child actors, said “we are pleasantly surprised to know that we won an award. We express our gratefulness for being given the opportunity to be actors.” Aminodin, along with most of the actors, live and work in the dumpsite where most of the film was shot.

“I’m happy that the film won an award, I did not hope for this,” said Cawi Nasroding Mama who plays Aminodin’s father in the film. “It was hard shooting the movie because we had to do several takes.

“WHEN I SAW THE FILM, I SAW THAT IT WAS BEAUTIFULLY MADE… FOR ME, TO THE BEST OF MY ABILITIES, I WILL SUPPORT ANY INITIATIVE THAT WILL HELP MARAWI RISE AGAIN.” – CAWI NASRODING MAMA

Co-director Guillermo Fesser shares, “in the world there are two types of stories, those that impress and those that move you…the Invisible Monster wants to move you, so that it may remain in your memory.” He further states, “it shows the reality for thousands of children in the Philippines,” adding that “hunger is much more than just a food problem.”

“We wanted to show everyone through the film the invisible reality for a lot of Filipino children” said Dale Nelson Divinagracia, Fundraising and Resource Development Manager for Action Against Hunger. “The symptoms of stunting is not as evident as compared to acute malnutrition, but the effects are as severe: those affected may never attain their full possible height, have weaker immune systems, and their brains may never develop to their full cognitive potential. They will face learning difficulties in school and get sick more often. If not treated in the first 1,000 days of a person’s life, the effects of malnutrition are irreversible and will last that person’s whole life.”

On their collaboration with the humanitarian organization, Guillermo Fesser shares “we have realized that the invisible hunger, the chronic hunger, the constant and daily hunger is a social illness that is suffered in silence.” Javier agrees to this sentiment and adds, “we feel very privileged of being able to shout ‘action’, but against hunger, against injustice, against inequality.”

As the world’s hunger specialist for over 40 years, Action Against Hunger is in the frontline fighting malnutrition in nearly 50 countries providing life-saving aid focused on Nutrition & Health, Water, Sanitation, & Hygiene, Food Security & Livelihoods, and Emergency Response.

SYNOPSIS

Aminodin’s father always smiles because he says that “happy people live longer.” That is why, at eight years old, Aminodin puts on his best smile while working at the Papandayan dumpsite, where he lives with his family.
His cousin Aliman, on the other hand, lost his smile when bombs fell from the sky in his hometown of Marawi City. As Aliman spends his days sad and crestfallen in a refugee camp, Aminodin devises a plan to make him smile again.

ABOUT THE INVISIBLE MONSTER

The film is a story of the Filipino spirit finding hope and happiness amidst poverty, loss, war, and hunger. It stars two children: Aminodin who lives and works in a landfill; Aliman who lives in an evacuation camp. Through these two boys, we see that happiness and hunger cannot always be seen by the naked eye.
Directed in part by Oscar-nominated Director Javier Fesser, the 32-minute film was shot in Marawi City whose inhabitants are still experiencing the after-effects of the 5-month siege that transpired from May to October, 2017. All the “actors” in the film are not professional and are actual residents who lived through the siege. The film intends to mobilize people against the extreme form of hunger – malnutrition, a disease that affects 4 million Filipino children.

THE DIRECTORS

Javier Fesser

JAVIER FESSER

Winner of six Goya awards, Spain’s equivalent to the Oscars, the prestigious filmmakers works include The Miracle of P. Tinto, Camino, and Oscar-nominated Binta and the Great Idea. His 2018 film, Campeones (Champions), was the highest-grossing Spanish language film in Spain for that year. Committed to social issues, Javier has directed audio visual projects linked to non-profit organizations such as UNICEF and the Organization of Ibero-American States.

Guillermo Fesser

GUILLERMO FESSER

Well-known in Spain for his radio show Gomaespuma alongside Juan Luis Cano, Guillermo works as a writer and correspondent in the America. His multifaceted career includes the direction of the film Candida, a story based on his bestselling biography of a cleaning lady, and the publication of several innovative interactive books for children specifically for tablets and mobile phones.

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