Legacy of the Fighting Filipinos

“'I don’t sleep. I'm afraid to open the post': Covid's continued effect for film industry workers” - The Guardian (OCT 2020)

 

“There are days I get up and say, ‘We’re doing this!’ and we all plough forward. Then there are days when we all have to drag ourselves to our feet and curse our way through. But we remember: our veterans did not have an option to quit. We won’t either.” 

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“We took a look at what we had and decided we owed it to our elderly veterans to finish telling this story as soon as possible. Because we couldn’t reach our subjects safely, we made the decision to include more animation to complete the film.” - TS Botkin, Director

 

“'Over one hour everything was cancelled' – how coronavirus devastated the film industry” - The Guardian (MAR 2020)

 

“Now, Covid-19 has taken aim at my subjects: elderly Filipino men and women who served in the US Army but were denied benefits and citizenship by the US Congress in 1946. Some of the subjects of the film who are in lockdown have stopped responding.” - TS Botkin, Director

 

“Freelance film-makers cannot access the stop-gap provided by unemployment benefits or the emergency funds provided by unions. We are many, and we are out of luck. Still, perhaps not so out of luck as the veterans in my film. I’m worried for my livelihood; they for their lives.” - TS Botkin, Director

 

“‘Fighting Filipinos’ film to be finished in New Mexico” - Inquirer.Net (MAR 2020)

 

“When I first heard about this story, I was struck by my own ignorance of WWII history in the Philippines. Then I learned of the depth of the US’ betrayal of its own soldiers. It’s a betrayal Congress easily doled out in the 1940s on people of color, and it’s unacceptable that the betrayal continues today. As an American, I cannot not swallow this as part of our collective identity. I mean, is this really who we are as a people?” - TS Botkin, Director