Kapamilya actor Elijah Canlas expressed how important telling the story of Filipino activist, Edgar Jopson, is to the younger generation. During the media conference for the upcoming film, Edjop, he shared his belief that this film could spark the change —regardless of whatever side people support.
Edjop is about the life of Edgar Jopson who was killed in 1982 at the height of Martial Law. Elijah plays the titular role while Kapamilya actress Jodi Sta Maria plays Joyette Jopson. The film is directed by Katski Flores.
Elijah recalled having historical films in the past that were shown in school–– something Edjop could tap in as well. He believed that with the rampant spread of fake news on social media, the film that he stars in could help students out.
“Ngayon kasi sa panahon ngayon mas marami pang fake news kaysa sa mga totoong news e di ba? Mas marami pang mga fake na facts, alternative history, at nire-revise yung history sa harapan natin lahat,” he shared.
“So having projects like these, having films like these… Noong bata ako, madalas napapanood Sineskwela sa classroom, Jose Rizal ni Marilou Diaz-Abaya, Bayaning 3rd World — mga ganong klaseng pelikula. This could be one of those films diba? It could be one of those films na papapanood sa mga estudyante,” he added.
The Kapamilya star revealed how students weren’t even familiar with the role of the late Filipino activist during Martial Law, which he admitted wasn’t a surprise to the team.
“It's a whole different generation now. So having a film like this, not to like put this film on a pedestal or anything, but I feel like there's power in it and it can really spark some change,” he said.
READ: ‘Edjop’ is finally making its way to cinemas this September
While there are other films out there that are also of the same genre, Elijah highlighted how their film is backed up with research. Joyette, the daughter of Edgar, produced it herself. He is confident that what they’ll show in the cinemas is fact-checked.
“So you know that is very accurate historically and having a film na ganon ka-accurate historically, then mas confident ka na walang bad seeds na matatanim and wala kang pagsisisihan kasi maganda yung intention. So sana this film really sparks some change,” he ended.
Edjop will make its theatrical release in cinemas nationwide starting September 16, 2026 after years in production.