Highly-anticipated feature film Edjop is set to do its final day of filming this October at the Ateneo de Manila University in Quezon City. This development comes after more than a year since the filming began.
The film will feature the life of Edgar Jopson, a Filipino activist who was killed in 1982 at the height of Martial Law. It stars Jodi Sta. Maria, Elijah Canlas, Kakie Pangilinan, and Cedric Juan, among others and will be directed by Katski Flores.
READ: Sharon Cuneta proud of daughter Frankie Pangilinan’s acting in 'EdJop'
According to the film’s director, filming at the Loyola Heights campus is meaningful as the values of the Edjop were formed in the institution.
“Bringing Edjop back to Ateneo is especially meaningful. This is where his leadership was shaped, where his convictions took root, and where his story, in so many ways, began. To shoot the climactic scenes here, with the Ateneo community itself helping us stage the rallies, is both an honor and a responsibility,” the director shared.
The university will be transformed into one of the most ambitious sequences in Philippine cinema: the historic First Quarter Storm rallies of 1970.
Joyette Jopson, the eldest daughter of the late Filipino activist, shared how filming on the grounds of Ateneo is “healing” for the family as well.
READ: Jodi Sta Maria wraps up filming of ‘Edjop’: ‘This project was more than just a film’
“When my father was killed by Marcos’s soldiers during martial law, Ateneo allowed only a single day for his wake on campus. At the time, his presence was seen as dangerous. Today, Ateneo is opening its grounds not with fear, but with generosity. This partnership is an act of healing for the family,” she explained.
To recreate the First Quarter Storm rallies of 1970, Open Water Productions and Ateneo de Manila University, through the Ateneo Martial Law Museum and Library (AMLML) and Fine Arts Department, will be bringing 500 to 1,000 volunteers for the last day of filming.
With Edjop nearing its completion, supporters of the film can look forward to it in cinemas in the future. Earlier this year, a preview was held for the film to raise funds.