Paraiso (Tagalog: 'Paradise') is a 2015 Philippine documentary film directed by Nash Ang. Focusing on the aftermath of Super Typhoon Haiyan, the Category 5 storm that hit the Visayas in November 2013 and claimed over 6,300 lives, the film follows child survivors as they try to rebuild. A review in the Philippine Daily Inquirer highlighted the documentary's portrayal of these children's "struggles as they live on and rebuild their lives in what was once their 'paraiso' or paradise."
Beyond the Philippines, the film won the Grand Prix at Portugal's 21st CineEco International Festival of Environmental Cinema. Subsequent screenings in North Korea and Russia earned the project the 2016 Special Festival Prize at the 15th Pyongyang International Film Festival and the Mass Media Jury Award at the 15th Baikal International Festival. Its Russian run also marked the first time a Philippine film was shown at the ECOCUP International Green Documentary Film Festival in Moscow, which was followed by a screening at Moscow State University.
Production Ang initiated the documentary project while pursuing his filmmaking studies at the Korea National University of Arts under the Art Major Asian scholarship program. Having traveled to Leyte approximately one month after Typhoon Haiyan made landfall in November 2013, he began documenting the local recovery efforts.
The film was produced by Victor Villanueva, with Ang and Ronnie Gamboa Jr. serving as both co-cinematographers. Featuring a musical score composed by Miguel Lorca, the documentary was described by CineEco festival organizers as a form of direct cinema that "shows the lives of Filipinos, young and old alike, a month after supertyphoon 'Yolanda'... hit the country in 2013."
Release On February 21, 2015, Paraiso premiered as the opening-night film of the Singkuwento International Film Festival. Held at the Leandro Locsin Theater inside the National Commission for Culture and the Arts Building in Intramuros, the premiere marked the film's first public screening. In 2016, the film was officially selected and screened at the Filmambiente International Environmental Film Festival in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
For the North Korean and Russian festival runs, Ang traveled to Pyongyang to personally receive the Special Festival Prize from the chair of the Korea Film Import and Export Corp. at the Taedongmun Theater. He subsequently attended the Baikal festival in Irkutsk, Siberia, where the documentary received the Mass Media Jury Award.
Year Festival Location Notes 2015 Singkuwento International Film Festival Philippines Opening night film 2015 21st CineEco: International Festival of Environmental Cinema Portugal Grand Prix (€2,000 prize) 2015 Transcultural Network Festival South Korea Closing film 2016 7th ECOCUP International Green Documentary Film Festival Russia First Filipino film at the festival; screened at the Center of Documentary Cinema 2016 Moscow State University screening Russia Special screening for students and faculty 2016 Filmambiente International Environmental Film Festival Brazil Official selection 2016 15th Pyongyang International Film Festival North Korea Special Festival Prize 2016 15th Baikal International Festival Russia Mass Media Jury Award
Accolades Year Festival Award Source 2015 21st CineEco: International Festival of Environmental Cinema Grand Prix (€2,000 prize) Inquirer 2016 15th Pyongyang International Film Festival Special Festival Prize Inquirer 2016 15th Baikal International Festival of Documentary and Popular-Science Films Mass Media Jury Award Inquirer
For his cinematic achievements, which included directing Paraiso, Ang was honored by the National Commission for Culture and the Arts with the Ani ng Dangal in 2016.
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