Aperture: Asia & Pacific Film Festival People Power Bombshell: The Diary of Vietnam Rose

People Power Bombshell is the result of found footage of an unfinished film by prolific Filipino director Celso Advento Castillo. Heralded as the saviour of Filipino cinema in his homeland, Celso Advento Castillo made many diverse films across genres, including ‘bomba’ films – erotic dramas with moral tales. In the 1980s, he was making a film with the promising young actress Liz Alindogan, but due to financial difficulties the film was never completed. The film was also being shot at a time when the People Power Revolution was taking hold. It was from under Alindogan’s bed that the reels of footage were recovered. 30 years later, John Torres set about mixing this footage with new footage, together with a new soundscape including interviews with the original cast and crew. The result is a unique piece of work, recalling the experiences and memories of the cast and crew as if from an imagined script, while Alindogan reveals the difficulties she encountered, never having truly realised her dream of becoming a film star in the 80s.