Who was this woman who amassed so many shoes that she could wear a different pair every day for more than seven years and not wear the same pair twice? Who was Imelda Marcos in her own words? What can the story of her life tell us about the Philippines under the Marcos regime? What can our response to her story tell us about ourselves?
Anyone interested in these questions can't miss the upcoming, campus screening of Imelda, a prize-winning documentary by Ramona Diaz.The International Policy Student Association (IPSA) at the Ford School will be hosting the screening on October 6, 2009 at 6:30pm in Room 1230, Weill Hall.
Imelda debuted to wide, critical acclaim. In 2004, it was nominated for the grand jury prize in documentary film at the Sundance Film Festival, where its cinematographer, Ferne Pearlstein, won for best documentary cinematography.
Diaz and her crew obtained remarkable access to Marcos, spending a month shadowing her all across the archipelago and even staying with her at her 42-hectare, seaside compound in Olot. The result is a portrait of the first lady that Diaz herself likens to a litmus test of sorts:
After interviewing dozens of supporters and detractors of the former first lady, I have found that Imelda seems to be a kind of litmus test for how Filipinos think of ourselves and our relationship to the "masses"—how can we love the people if they love her? How do we resist her imagery and what she stands for and how she defines Filipino pride without distancing ourselves from everything Filipino? I am not sure that this film gives us definitive answers to these questions. My one hope is that it poses the right questions.For more on the film, check out this online feature on PBS.
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