“Aswang” is an official entry for this year’s Oscars
The award-winning documentary “Aswang” is an official entry for this year’s Oscars! The Alyx Arumpac drug war documentary qualified for the 93rd Academy Awards after winning the White Goose Award at the DMZ International Documentary Film Festival last year.
According to Oscar’s website, entries that have won a qualifying award are eligible in the Documentary Feature category.
“Aswang” was included in the list released last January 28.
The documentary follows the first two years of President Rodrigo Duterte’s war against drugs in the Philippines. It features stories of victims from marginalized communities, exposing how their lives have changed during the current administration’s campaign against illegal drugs.
GMA News Online wrote: The film speaks volumes about its intentions to not feature any police or politicians in the narrative, focusing instead on the street level – the human impact- of the drug war.
Shot almost entirely at night with a blue, metallic tinge, the bleak, dystopian nature of the lives onscreen is palpable; what flashes of color cross the screen come almost exclusively from harsh fluorescent, neon, and police lights.
“Aswang” bagged the international critics’ FIPRESCI Award during the International Documentary Film Festival in Amsterdam in 2019.
It also won big at the FAMAS Awards 2020, bagging best picture, best documentary, best editing, and tying for best cinematography with Babae at Baril by Tey Clamor.
