Tribeca film "story of hope" for LGBTQ disaster survivors
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A non-binary Filipino comedian, Jaya encounters fellow typhoon survivors in "ASOG." Photo: Aya Garcia, courtesy of Seán Devlin
The power of resilience in the face of catastrophic disaster is the enduring focus of an Adam McKay-backed film premiering at the Tribeca Film Festival next week.
Driving the news: "ASOG" pays homage to the real-life stories of LGBTQ-identifying Filipinos, as its global release commences with America's annual celebration of Pride.
Details: In "ASOG" we meet Jaya, a non-binary Filipino comedian — and the film’s co-star and co-writer — based in the Philippines city of Tacloban.
- While venturing across the Philippines en route to a gay pageant, Jaya connects with Arnel Pablo, a fellow survivor of 2013's Super Typhoon Haiyan, and the two encounter several others still dealing with the storm's lasting impacts on land and livelihood.
What they're saying: "This film is a real-life story ... It is a story of hope, story of survival, story of struggle," Jaya tell Axios.
The big picture: Super Typhoon Haiyan killed thousands of people, left millions homeless and decimated infrastructure across the Philippines.
- Climate change is enabling typhoons and hurricanes to unleash more rainfall, and rapidly intensifying nature's strongest storms, writes Axios' Andrew Freedman.
Zoom in: Lirio Cordova, a land rights campaigner based in Manila, Philippines, tells Axios that even though it's been almost a decade since the typhoon hit, the enduring impacts of it feel "always fresh."
- "Super typhoon or drought ... climate change plays a very significant role in our daily life," Cordova says.
- The 2023 World Economic Forum Global Risks Report ranks the Philippines as the number one most-disaster-prone country, based on high risk, exposure and vulnerability.
Meanwhile: Filipino-Chinese-Canadian "ASOG" director Seán Devlin tells Axios that his team had "an ambition to make a film about climate change that was both true and authentic, but also entertaining and joyful at times."
- It incorporates fictional elements — like stories that honor his mother's Indigenous Filipino ancestry — alongside real-life typhoon survival accounts, to help make the topic "more palatable."
- "The world pays attention for 48 hours after the storm happens, but the impacts are so long and lingering," Devlin says. "Loss and damage is real, and it has a human face."
Of note: Through a partnership with Doc Society UK, "ASOG" is funding a campaign for disaster survivors in places like Sicogón Island — where nearly all homes were damaged by Super Typhoon Haiyan — to be able to document and share their stories.
- Plus, McKay, who was the director of "Don't Look Up," recently signed on as an executive producer.
The intrigue: Part of Devlin's inspiration to make "ASOG" came from seeing Jaya's comedy show in Tacloban the year following Super Typhoon Haiyan.
- "Jaya was bringing people on stage to sing karaoke. And inevitably, people would choose to sing a song that was the favorite song of a loved one who they had lost to the storm. And so as they were singing, they would start crying. And then everyone in the room would start crying," says Devlin.
- He notes how, without missing a beat, Jaya would then crack a few jokes and "lift everyone up."
The bottom line: "This film is about sharing my life, that ... the LGBTQ [community] has a very vital role in our society," says Jaya — but adds that it's equally about "our responsibility" in dealing with climate change.
- "I think it's a wake-up call for this generation."
