Introduction

When war between ISIS-affiliated extremists and Philippine government forces broke out in Marawi City in May 2017, most of the city’s residents expected the fighting to subside soon. Instead, the battle over Marawi lasted five months and forced half a million people to flee, with most of the evacuees seeking shelter in neighboring cities.

During the height of the crisis last year, we began working on the independent full-length documentary House in Pieces, zeroing in on the stories of some of the scores of people that were internally displaced due to the fighting.

While most of the reportage on the war in Marawi focused on the military escalation and drawn-out battle between Philippine army and ISIS, House in Pieces looks into the personal and cultural aftermath of war and Islamist extremism.

Story

Today, almost a year after the war began and half a year after it ended, Maranao evacuees remain in a state of limbo. The destruction of property and cultural heritage left a gaping wound among Maranaos, which may well lead to further radicalisation if the city’s rehabilitation is found inadequate by the slowly returning evacuees. The government's plan of putting Chinese investors at the helm of post-war reconstruction has caused an uproar among evacuees who feel that their interests were ignored in government decision-making. These concerns are particularly pressing among those displaced from the main affected area (“ground zero”) who will not be able to return to their homes for the foreseeable future.

This palpable and growing frustration links the conflict around the city’s rehabilitation with the film’s other line of conflict. The rise of the Islamic extremist Maute group and its increasing affiliation with ISIS have long been open secrets among Maranaos. After the war, Maranaos have some hard questions to ask themselves about the growth of extremism in their midst.

Against the backdrop of socio-economic and cultural marginalization experienced by Maranaos for decades, their own and the Philippine state’s responses to these dynamics will shape how the country will face the growing challenge of violent extremism.

House in Pieces revolves around the rebuilding of literal and symbolic homes that were lost due to the war. House in Pieces deploys this metaphor in various ways: through representations of Maranao heritage houses as 3D puzzles used in psychosocial recovery with evacuees, in the actual efforts of preserving or rehabilitating cultural heritage in the destroyed city, and in the reconstruction efforts of its residents.

Who Are We?

We are Manuel Domes and Jean Claire Dy, a German-Filipino team of filmmakers. We have been making films through Stories Beyond (www.stories-beyond.com) in the past two years. As a team, we have completed the short documentary film Pagrara Sang Patipuron (Weaving a Circle) about indigenous women weaving accessories from forest vines, and a docu-fiction short film titled Paglubad (Unravel) about a war criminal being interviewed by his niece, a documentary filmmaker. Both films have competed in Philippine film festivals.

Why Are We Here?

House in Pieces has been mostly self-financed until now. For our current production phase this May, we have received a financial contribution from a German NGO, which covers our expenses during this shoot. However, it is not enough to fully finance the upcoming final production phase and the film's post-production. 

Specifically, the 6,000 Euros fundraising goal would cover the following:

• travel to field sites and purchase of equipment (1,200 Euros)
• cover the travel expenses during our fourth and final production phase planned for August (2,500 Euros)
• allow us to license additional archival materials (500 Euros)
• secure professional standard post-production in sound design, scoring, and color grading (1,500 Euros)
• Indiegogo 5% fee (300 Euros)

Please take a look at our available perks on this page, ranging from 5 to 500 Euros in contributions. Even the smallest amounts will bring us closer towards completing the film, and we'll throw in an extended teaser for your viewing right away.

Impact

Similar to other areas in the world where ISIS took hold, most of the victims of the Marawi crisis are Muslims themselves. As frustrations over first militarized and then dragging government responses are rising, the Philippines continues to be in the center of attention over the fight against ISIS.

House in Pieces is a film about ordinary people in extraordinary situations. We believe it is important to tell their stories that often escape the attention of mainstream media. They build bridges between people that could well be in each other's place, were it not for accidents of birth. These stories are little puzzle pieces of our shared humanity.

Through an intimate and personal lens, protagonists who are often typecast as (potential) terrorists are humanized and dignified. The portraits of different evacuees’ perspectives weave the tapestry of the film’s two lines of conflict.

Following completion, House in Pieces will initially be distributed through two channels. We are planning for a film festival run in Asia, Europe and the U.S. The film will also be screened by the NGO and other organisations that have contributed to its creation (and remember, there is a 100$ perk allowing for your own public screenings!). We are optimistic that these channels will create enough buzz around the film to make a web docu/video-on-demand format viable, or to have the film broadcasted.

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Thanks for your support!