Draft:Paraiso
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Paraiso (Filipino: "Paradise") is a 2015 Filipino documentary film directed by Nash Ang. Employing the direct cinema approach, the film follows child survivors of Typhoon Haiyan (locally known as Typhoon Yolanda), the strongest tropical cyclone ever recorded at landfall, one month after it struck the Visayas region of the Philippines in November 2013.[1][2]
Comment: In accordance with Wikipedia's Conflict of interest guideline, I disclose that I have a conflict of interest regarding the subject of this article. Subtleazn (talk) 10:45, 15 March 2026 (UTC)
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- Nash Ang (executive)
- Victor Villanueva
- Henrik Nydqvist (associate)
- OBRA Incorporated (studio)
- Nash Ang
- Ronnie Gamboa Jr.
- Nash Ang
- Ronnie Gamboa Jr.
| Paraiso | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Nash Ang |
| Produced by |
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| Cinematography |
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| Edited by |
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| Music by | Miguel Lorca |
Release date |
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Running time | 60 minutes |
| Country | Philippines |
| Languages | |
The film premiered at the Singkuwento International Film Festival in Manila in February 2015[3] and went on to win the Grand Prix at the 21st CineEco: International Festival of Environmental Cinema in Serra da Estrela, Portugal,[1] the Special Festival Prize at the 15th Pyongyang International Film Festival in North Korea,[2] and the Mass Media Jury Award at the 15th Baikal International Festival of Documentary and Popular-Science Films in Irkutsk, Russia.[2]
Synopsis
Paraiso documents the lives of Filipinos, particularly children, in the aftermath of Typhoon Haiyan, which made landfall in the Philippines on November 8, 2013, and killed more than 6,000 people.[4] The film was shot on location in Leyte approximately one month after the disaster,[5] and, as the Philippine Daily Inquirer described, "reveals their struggles as they live on and rebuild their lives in what was once their 'paraiso' or paradise."[4] Audiences at the Baikal International Festival in Russia noted the contrast with their own country's disaster response, expressing surprise that Filipinos reconstructed without relying on government assistance.[2]
Production
Background
Director Nash Ang, a Filipino filmmaker based in Seoul, had already established a reputation for documentary work before Paraiso. In 2012, The Korea Herald profiled Ang as a filmmaker with "a cinematic eye for presenting heart-wrenching poverty with disarming frankness," noting his earlier documentary Live to Dive (Lusong), which explored child divers scavenging for scraps in the polluted waters of Puting Bato.[6] That film screened at the DMZ Korean International Documentary Film Festival and the 13th Pyongyang International Film Festival, where Ang won Best Director.[6][7]
Ang was studying filmmaking and directing on an Art Major Asian (AMA) Scholarship at the Korea National University of Arts when Typhoon Haiyan struck the Philippines in November 2013.[5] He traveled to Leyte, one of the provinces most devastated by the typhoon, to film the documentary.[5]
Direct cinema approach
Paraiso was made in the style of direct cinema, an observational documentary filmmaking tradition that originated in the United States in the 1960s with practitioners such as Frederick Wiseman, D. A. Pennebaker, and the Maysles brothers. Direct cinema is characterized by its avoidance of narration, scripted dialogue, interviews, and staged scenes, instead capturing events as they unfold without directorial intervention.
The film's IMDb listing describes it as "a direct cinema documentary film about child survivors of the strongest typhoon ever recorded in human history."[3] Organizers of the CineEco festival in Portugal, where Paraiso won the Grand Prix, also described the documentary as a form of "direct cinema," which "shows the lives of Filipinos, young and old alike, a month after supertyphoon 'Yolanda,' described as one of the strongest typhoons in the world, hit the country in 2013."[1]
Ang served as both director and co-cinematographer alongside Ronnie Gamboa Jr. The two also edited the film. The musical score was composed by Miguel Lorca.[8]
Release
Paraiso premiered at the Singkuwento International Film Festival on February 21, 2015, at the Leandro Locsin Theater in the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) Building in Intramuros, Manila.[4][9] The Inquirer listed Paraiso among three opening-night films at the festival, which that year showcased 53 films by 51 filmmakers.[4] The film subsequently screened at international festivals in Portugal, North Korea, and Russia throughout 2015 and 2016.[1][2]
Accolades
| Year | Festival | Award | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 21st CineEco: International Festival of Environmental Cinema, Serra da Estrela, Portugal | Grand Prix (€2,000 prize) | Inquirer[1] |
| 2016 | 15th Pyongyang International Film Festival, North Korea | Special Festival Prize | Inquirer[2][10] |
| 2016 | 15th Baikal International Festival of Documentary and Popular-Science Films, Irkutsk, Russia | Mass Media Jury Award | Inquirer[2] |
Nash Ang's body of work, including Paraiso, contributed to his receiving the Ani ng Dangal award from the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) in 2016, his second such recognition under the Cinema category after an initial award in 2011.[7][11]