Earl Woods, father of famed golfer Tiger, looked out at the adoring crowd who has come to see his son's promotional round of golf in the Philippines and says into a microphone, "Have fun. Golf is a game. It's spelled g-a-m-e. It's not life or death."
What Tiger and his father don't know is that 100 miles away in the seaside village of Hacienda Looc, golf has indeed become a game of life and death. The Filipino government has teamed up with the powerful development company, Fil-Estate, to try and turn Hacienda Looc into one of the Philippines' largest golf and tourist resorts. To do that, they must first evict 7,500 peasants who live on land that has been farmed by their families for generations.
The peasants have organized to stop the development but their efforts to resist have been met with increased violence. So far, three peasants have been killed, allegedly by the developer's armed guards. The New People's Army, a rebel army that has been fighting for land reform, has threatened to intervene if the killings don't stop.
Director and Producer Jen Schradie and Videographer and Editor Matt DeVries have captured this combustible mix in their documentary, "The Golf War." The 40-minute documentary makes its world premier on May 13 at 7:30 p.m. at the Asian Pacific American Legal Center in Los Angeles. Tickets are $5. The screening is sponsored by local organizations, including BAYAN International, U.S.A., which builds solidarity for struggles in the Philippines, including land reform. (The Revolutionary Anti-Imperialist League is also sponsoring this screening and other around southern California).
DeVries and Schradie hope to take the powerful story of the Filipino peasants to a wider audience than traditional documentary viewers.
"I think when people see this, they'll understand that the West's idea of progress and development doesn't make sense for these folks," Schradie said. "They'd much rather continue with a way of life that's existed for hundreds of years than be kicked off their land so they can gets jobs as caddies or prostitutes."
The documentary was shot in late 1997 and early 1998 after Schradie had spent a month traveling with an armed unit of the New People's Army. The NPA has been fighting a civil war against the Filipino government for three decades and has succeeded in organizing peasants in pockets of NPA controlled guerrilla zones around the country.
She was joined in the Philippines by Videographer Matt DeVries in December 1997 and together they traveled to the small fishing and farming community of Hacienda Looc where they had heard about the struggle. There they discovered people who were content with a way of life that was simple and peaceful.
But the government has decided it would be a shame not to share their scenic land with golfers and tourists from around the globe. Fil-Estate, a large real-estate developer, has plans to build a golfing community that would include four golf courses, including one designed by Jack Nicholas, and a vast array of hotels, homes and a yacht marina, all set on a picturesque bay. But first, they must acquire all of the land. So they have teamed up with the Filipino government and the military to force the peasants off their land.
The village has responded by organizing to fight back. A group of women have taken to the hills to form a human chain to block bulldozers from entering. The villagers have banded together to create, Umalpas-Ka, a group that's pressing for their legal rights to the land. And when the developer's own security guards allegedly killed three peasants trying to resist the developers, the NPA threatened to step in on behalf of the peasants unless the violence stopped.
While telling the dramatic story of the peasant's fight, the movie contrasts the happy, carefree vision of the golf lifestyle being promoted by people such as Tiger Woods with the devastation it is causing just miles down the road. This is the government's dream: To build a place that would attract more of the rich and famous like Tiger and his father. The Filipino kids working at Tiger's tournament look good in their golf shirts, but none can actually afford to play the game that is supposed to be the salvation of their country.
Since Schradie returned to the U.S. in July 1998, she and DeVries have been writing the script, editing the footage and raising money to support the production.
The documentary was made from scores of individual contributions through their fiscal sponsor, the IMAGE Film and Video Center, based in Atlanta. Distribution is made possible by the Durham Arts Council, with support from the N.C. Arts Council, a state agency, and The Puffin Foundation. "The Golf War" is the first production released by anthill productions which is based in Durham, N.C.
The premiere in Los Angeles is the culmination of an 18-month collaboration that has produced a dramatic, moving and sometimes funny tale.
"While we'd like people to be entertained with the political satire, we'd also like them to understand that this isn't just a trite tale of rich golfers and poor, helpless peasants," DeVries said. "They're fighting back."
anthill productions, l.l.c.
902 arnette avenue
durham, north carolina 27701
919.682.5905 schradie@hotmail.com
For more information contact:
Chris O'Brien
Media Relations
919.489.2216
919.682.5905
cobrien@nando.com
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