{"id":2347,"date":"2024-01-09T17:31:54","date_gmt":"2024-01-09T22:31:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/multi-monde.ca\/en\/?p=2347"},"modified":"2025-09-21T09:31:43","modified_gmt":"2025-09-21T13:31:43","slug":"my-friend-the-terrorist-a-tale-of-love-and-revolution","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/multi-monde.ca\/en\/my-friend-the-terrorist-a-tale-of-love-and-revolution\/","title":{"rendered":"My Friend the Terrorist: a tale of love and revolution"},"content":{"rendered":"

For the first 25 years of his adult life Jose Maria Sison<\/strong> was known to various degrees as the Fidel Castro, Mao Zedong, and Che Guevara of the Philippines. For the last 35 years of his life he has been living in exile, 10,000 km away from the bustle, the intrigue, the bribery and the squalor of Manila, in the tranquil medieval city of Utrecht, the Netherlands.<\/p>\n

In the 1960s Jose Maria Sison founded the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) and the CPP\u2019s guerrilla-military arm, the New People\u2019s Army (NPA), among other noble and nefarious activities that led to his Philippine passport being revoked in 1987. To the US State Department, the Philippine government, and some European authorities, Sison is a certified terrorist.<\/p>\n

With his wife Julieta de Lima<\/strong> (84) he lives a hand-to-mouth Spartan existence and yet they are the most charming couple. This is their love story: their love for each other, their love of country, and the love of many of their compatriots for them.<\/p>\n

100 min.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Upcoming Screenings<\/h1>\n

Quezon City, Philippines<\/strong> : December 10 2025,\u00a0 UP Film Center, Cine Adarna<\/p>\n

Utrecht, Netherlands<\/strong> : December 13 2025<\/p>\n

REVIEWS<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n

\u201cMalcolm\u2019s 2016 interview with Rodrigo Duterte is perhaps the only one of its kind. Here, the infamous tyrant president throws shade at the Philippine fascist establishment and recounts a part of his history as a student who gained insights into social injustice from his college instructor, Joma Sison.\u201d <\/em><\/span>– Sarah Raymundo,\u00a0Faculty at the University of the Philippines-Diliman Center for International Studies, President of the Philippines-Bolivarian Venezuela Friendship Association and International Liaison Officer of Bagong Alyansang Makabayan<\/p>\n

\u201cThrough one-on-one interviews and group shots of community celebrations, military drills, and medical clinics we meet a quirky, earnest community of armed struggle walking the road that Sison and de Lima helped make for them decades ago. Far from dogmatic or domineering, the film makes the communist revolution in the Philippines seem flexible, useful, and resonant. People are making it their own.\u201d <\/em><\/span>– Owen Toews, author of the award-winning work of non-fiction Stolen City: Racial Capitalism and the Making of Winnipeg<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

“The directors, Malcolm Guy and Demetri Estdelacropolis, capture every ounce of Sison and de Lima’s dignity, courage, and whimsy. JoMa loves singing karaoke and does so frequently throughout the film (a habit that he picked up to keep himself sane during his long years in prison); they both have a great sense of humor and love to tease eachother. For all the pain they’ve lived through, from jungle warfare to incarceration and torture to watching their four children grow up from afar, they possess an unshakable joy and conviction.”\u00a0 <\/em><\/span>The North Star article: MY FRIEND THE TERRORIST\u201d, OR THE HUMANIZATION OF POLITICAL ENEMIES\u00a0<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Interview with the director Malcolm Guy and Jack Shalom : https:\/\/jackshalom.net\/2024\/12\/26\/my-friend-the-terrorist\/<\/a><\/p>\n

Learn more about Ka Joma:\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n

Friends of the Filipino People in Struggle<\/a><\/p>\n

Ka Joma Lives! Study Movement: Immortalizing Ka Joma\u2019s Legacy<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n