Darryl Yap: My Marcos films are ‘historical rectification’
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, March 1) — Darryl Yap, director of the controversial films “Maid in Malacañang” and “Martyr or Murderer” that show the perspective of the Marcos family on the events the led to the 1986 People Power Revolution, said his movies are not historical revisionism but “historical rectification.”
“They always claim that there is historical revisionism. I always correct them when I say it's historical rectification,” Yap told CNN Philippines’ The Final Word on Tuesday.
“Martyr or Murderer” is about the Marcos family's story before and after the People Power Revolution and their perspective on the killing of former Senator Ninoy Aquino. In his previous interviews, Yap said the film revolves around the “heaviest accusation” against the Marcoses.
“Maid in Malacañang” has sparked backlash from the victims of martial law, academe, and organizations that fought the dictatorship of former president Ferdinand Marcos Sr. The Carmelites Monastery in Cebu has slammed the portrayal of nuns in "Maid in Malacañang," describing a scene in the movie as "malicious" and an "attempt to distort history."
But Yap said he just showed what happened.
“You know, I’m not a political analyst, I’m a director, a writer. So I just wrote about what happened with the Marcos family,” he explained.
Asked if he consulted historians and researchers for “Martyr or Murderer,” Yap said he had a 30-man research team, some from Morocco and Boston and others who are “non-Marcos supporters.”
He also explained that the film is based on the perspective of Sen. Imee Marcos and former first lady Imelda Marcos, and he does not perceive the late President Marcos as a dictator.
“Para po sa akin (for me), when I was reading all the script, it was very hard to believe that he was a dictator. I don’t see him as a dictator, I just see him as a very, very stiff leader,” he explained.
During martial law, over 11,000 people fell victim to summary execution, torture, and other human rights violations, according to the Human Rights Victims Reparation and Recognition Act.
Amnesty International estimates that 70,000 people were imprisoned and 34,000 were tortured during martial law.
RELATED: Martial law survivor to Marcos: No need for apology, acknowledge abuses under father's time
Yap encouraged Filipinos to watch all the movies about the 1986 People Power Revolution featured in cinemas this March.
"Oras de Peligro" will be shown in local cinemas on March 1, simultaneous with "Martyr or Murderer."
"Oras de Peligro" features a fictional family living in the slums who dealt with the murder of a family member under the hands of corrupt policemen days before the People Power Revolution.
