BITTER RICE

Director Graham Chase / 1989 / Australia

Graham Chase's just completed new doco is a fascinating episode from the continuing saga of the Philipine revolution. It's subject is one Bemabe Buscayno, alias Kommanda Dante, a life-time friend of Ninoy Aquino, and founder member of the NPA (New People's Army). Arrested m the manhunt that also imprisoned Aquino in 1976, Dante served 10 years in prison (three in solitary) before being released by Cory Aquino under a political amnesty.

Dante's life outside prison serves as a vivid account of the complexities and contradictions of the Philipine situation. Can even Dante's new 'grass-roots' activism succeed in the current climate?

With his usual eye for the telling detail and an increasing sophistication, Chase gives a human face to revolution.

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