Mariana aspires to a better life. Yet there are trappings around womanhood – an unemployed husband, a second pregnancy - that she has to grapple with. To break free, Mariana has choices to make. And though radical, it is the woman in her saying that decisions will have to be made, no matter what the consequences are.
Kevin Pison Piamonte is a teacher at the University of the Philippines Visayas. He belongs to the Division of Humanities and teaches advertising and film. His first full-length documentary about the Indigenous Peoples of Boracay premiered at the Busan International Film Festival in 2018. A recent short film entitled SOLO won Best Film in the recent Quisumbing-Escandor Film Festival for Health and Best Short Film for the 69th FAMAS Awards.
Director’s Comment:
The theme of DOG EATERS is timeless because the struggles of women in our society continue until now. While DOG EATERS may be gritty as it shows urban decay and dehumanization, it is also about Mariana’s fight and flight to freedom. As a filmmaker and writer, I always believe we should create art that matters. And this film will surely matter because it reminds us never to forget the margins and the marginalized. While there are successful women in society, there are still those who are fighting for their rights and for their voices to be heard. The film opens up a conversation about women and their individuality and the fact that women should be able to stand by themselves and not necessarily fall into the trap of relationships, especially with men.
DOG EATERS is an adaptation of Leoncio Deriada’s THE DOG EATERS and is definitely a feminist piece set in a macho-fuelled world of men who have been likened to wild dogs.