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Manila Bulletin devider Entertainment devider Movies and TV devider 'Ilocano Defenders' movie tackles urgent societal issues

'Ilocano Defenders' movie tackles urgent societal issues

Published Dec 14, 2021 06:17 pm

'Ilocano Defenders: War on Rape'

"Ilocano Defenders" is set to make waves of discussions on urgent societal issues with their movie, ‘War on Rape’, scheduled to be released on Philippine theaters on Dec. 15, 2021.

The movie ‘War on Rape’ is a gripping action - thriller film that relentlessly tackles head on the plight of human trafficking and rape victims in the country. Directed by Marvin Leyson, the movie follows the story of the lead cast, Michael Say, Morgan Say and Solomon Say as they abolish a syndicate who abuses the rights of women and innocents.

“There is an ongoing tumor in the society and a repeating history of abuse on women and numerous acts of rape. Amidst the pandemic, many societal issues are set aside but are still rampant. Our goal is to shed light on these issues with our movie,” Morgan Say said in an interview.

Cases of abuse and harassment on women and children have inspired the team of Ilocano Defenders to produce and create a fictional movie that mirrors this societal issue. Thus, the movie War on Rape was made with the incorporation of fighting arts and correct assimilation of legal actions used to combat villains.

Michael, Morgan and Solomon, who are all black belters in Taekwondo, aim to promote the revival of martial arts in the Philippine movie industry through Ilocano Defenders. Packed with fight scenes, Morgan directed the choreography using fighting arts through Taekwondo, a campaign to promote the use of effective and non-lethal weapons against sexual harassment.

“Taekwondo and other non-lethal fighting styles, once used responsibly and put into good use, can be an effective and helpful guard against violence and abuse,” Morgan added.

Just in September of this year, a report presented by Quezon City Police Department showed that the number of cases of rape and violence against women and children in Quezon City increased by 66.67 percent, while rape cases increased by 21.54 percent for the first eight months this year compared to the same period last year.

The movie "Ilocano Defenders: War on Rape" is rated-16 by MTRCB.

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