Tacloban, Philippines — one of the poorest regions in the country — is home to Jaya and Arnel Pablo, the real-life inspirations and co-stars of our award-winning film Asog.

Some may also remember our Filipino producer Marissa Cabaljao, Campaign Director of People Surge, the largest alliance of disaster survivors in the Philippines. Five years ago, Marissa was unjustly arrested during a midnight raid in Tacloban. Her 1-year-old daughter, Malaya — the godchild of Asog’s producers — was taken as well but has since been released. Fearing for her safety, Marissa has remained in hiding, separated from her four children, whom we have continued to support financially. Recently, the children are being followed to school, and we now fund private security to escort them safely each day.

During filming, we were able to pay Jaya and Arnel the equivalent of two years of local income for just 45 days of work. Since then, our producers have continued to support them personally, including covering Arnel’s university tuition so he can pursue higher education.

Thanks to generous supporters, this campaign has already raised $11,496, which helped us:

Support our Filipino cast through the COVID-19 pandemic.

Secure passports and visas for Jaya and Arnel — allowing them to leave the Philippines for the first time to attend Asog’s world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York City.

Bring Arnel to screenings at Calgary and Vancouver International Film Festivals, and Jaya to Outfest in Los Angeles and the U.S. theatrical release of Asog.

Now, as the film continues to reach audiences worldwide, we’re asking for your help once more.

Our goal is to extend the impact of Asog by providing steady support for Jaya, Arnel, and Marissa’s children, whose livelihoods remain uncertain. Even small contributions make a significant difference — helping cover daily essentials, educational costs, and safety expenses for Marissa’s kids.

Every dollar you give will go directly toward:

Monthly living expenses for Jaya, Arnel, and Marissa’s children

School expenses and safe transportation for Marissa’s children

This campaign is about more than a film — it’s about ensuring that the people whose lives and stories inspired Asog can continue to thrive long after the credits roll.

✨ Your support means everything. Please donate and share today.

//// IMPACT

ASOG takes place on the frontlines of climate change and explores LGBTQ+ issues, corporate land-grabbing and the legacy of colonialism in the Philippines. However, ASOG is also a pre-figurative production. We don’t simply want to tell a story that raises awareness - we want to tell a story that raises the quality of life for the people to whom this story belongs.

Jaya, Arnel, Amelia and Raul really did survive Super Typhoon Haiyan, the strongest storm in recorded history, which claimed the lives of more than 18,000 people [7] They lost loved ones, their homes were destroyed and their communities decimated. Amelia and Raul's homes truly were stolen by a developer that seized their land while they were still in evacuation centers.

After taking a helicopter flight over the city, U.S. marine Brig.-Gen. Paul Kennedy said "I don't believe there is a single structure that is not destroyed or severely damaged in some way — every single building, every single house." [8]

Before the storm, Jaya worked as a school teacher, they were a successful touring comedian and the host of their own talk show. After Haiyan, the school where Jaya worked was destroyed, along with the television studio that hosted their show.

The director's last film WHEN THE STORM FADES allocated money the same way, 50% of crowdfunded money and 50% of the film profits went and continue to go directly to the Filipino cast of that film: The Pablo family. The Pablos we're able to make necessary repairs to their seaside home after it had been destroyed by a typhoon, they were able to pay for their children's education, they purchased an income-generating 'sari sari' store and when they were inevitably displaced by climate change adaptation construction they used the money to buy a new home.

//// ABOUT THE CO-WRITER/DIRECTOR

Sean Devlin 叶 世民 is a Filipino-Chinese-Canadian writer/director/stand up comedian/prankster/activist. He most recently served as a Consulting Producer on Sacha Baron Cohen’s Borat Subsequent Moviefilm. For his last feature film, WHEN THE STORM FADES, The Director’s Guild of Canada presented Sean with the Emerging Canadian Director prize at the 37th Vancouver International Film Festival. The film earned Sean two international festival jury prizes for Best Director (Liverpool & Mumbai) and won Best Canadian Film at the 19th Gimli Film Festival as well as two Vancouver Film Critics’ Awards. The film is currently available worldwide via 1091 Pictures.

For over a decade the primary focus of Sean's activism and artwork has been climate change. In 2011 members of Sean's family in the Philippines lost their home in Typhoon Sendong, two years later Typhoon Haiyan decimated Leyte Island where his mother was born and raised. He has directed 3 feature films and one short film in the last 6 years exploring the impacts of climate change in the Philippines, with a specific focus on communities where his family comes from. Sean's most recent films are docufiction hybrids, starring real Filipino climate survivors re-enacting and re-imagining their own life experiences within fictional narrative constructs. Sean’s activist work is rooted in principles of climate justice and ancient practices of creative disruption. For four years he worked as the principal artist and Executive Director of the political comedy organization ShitHarperDid.com. The Huffington Post declared it “The viral phenomenon that captured the digital zeitgeist during the 2011 federal election.” While the Globe and Mail praised the group’s work for “winning the viral video war with a stealth campaign that’s been spreading like prairie wildfire.” In the years that followed the organization crowdfunded numerous self-produced ads onto national television and exposed government deception through Yes Men-style impersonations. Sean twice successfully infiltrated former Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s personal security detail in order to bring national attention to Canada’s contributions to climate change and the global refugee crisis. These performative interventions caused one Conservative Senator to call for changes to the law so that Devlin could be imprisoned. Since 2011 he has worked as a “thought stylist” for the Yes Men and as a facilitator and project manager for the Yes Lab (NYU) supporting artists and activists around the world in developing their own disruptive creative practices.

In 2014 he directed this short documentary about Typhoon Yolanda's impact for the country's largest alliance of storm survivors The People Surge:

//// THE CAST

REY ACLAO / JAYA

In 2014, Sean directed a short documentary about Typhoon Haiyan that featured the Pablo family. During this production he met Rey Aclao, a non-binary school teacher and comedian organizing weekly shows that helped people laugh and grieve collectively. As a professional comedian, Sean had great admiration for Rey’s work. As a filmmaker devoted to exploring the climate crisis, he was drawn to Rey’s artistic practice as an example of how impacted communities conduct their own recovery. Rey is a Haiyan survivor, having lost Loved ones and a recording studio in the storm. The way Rey tailored their comedy to support grieving audiences is profoundly inspiring. For 5 years Sean has continued a correspondence with Rey and has learned about the history of Filipino stage comedy and the role of non-binary artists within it. For over 20 years, Rey’s artistic practice has involved using comedy to hold space for collective grieving. As a Filipino-Canadian comedian who has been performing stand up, improv and sketch for 18 years, Sean has been deeply influenced by this opportunity to learn comedic practices that are specific to Filipino culture. Sean hired Rey to help coordinate ADR recording for WHEN THE STORM FADES. In addition to the salary they were paid for ASOG Sean has supported their living expenses through 6 months of the COVID-19 pandemic. Rey is the foremost professional comedian and performance teacher on Leyte Island, this financial support directly facilitates the ongoing work of nurturing the Asog tradition and the artistic celebration of LGBTQ+ identity on this small island. As a co-star Rey is also receiving 15% of the film’s profits.

ARNEL PABLO

This marks the 3rd film Sean has made with Arnel and members of his family. From the perspective of the heart, the Pablos have become part of Sean's extended family. Regarding quality of life, the Pablos’ neighborhood is being demolished to make way for a climate adaptation wall. All of WHEN THE STORM FADES’ theatrical profits went towards successfully buying a new home for Arnel and his family. Furthermore, 50% of all profit generated by sales of that film go directly to members of the Pablo Family. In addition to the salary he has been paid so far for ASOG, Arnel’s schooling and material needs are supported through a weekly stipend from Sean for nearly two years. As a co-star Arnel is also receiving 15% of the film’s profits.

AMELIA DELA CRUZ & RAUL RAMOS (DISPLACED RESIDENTS OF SICOGON)

During 2013’s Typhoon Haiyan thousands of seaside residents on the island of Sicogon fled their homes. However, some were blocked from returning to their homes by a real-estate developer who had seized their land to build a resort. Amelia and Raul are two of the elderly residents who were displaced. They are leaders in their community. On top of their fee for appearing in the film we will also film sit down interviews with them. These interviews have nothing to do with Asog. Rather, we intend to release these interviews publicly in support of a looming litigation battle they are entering into. For their supporting roles, Amelia and Raul are splitting 15% of the film’s profits. With an additional 5% going towards ongoing community organizing led by the displaced residents of Sicogon.

*SOURCES

[1] "21 protesters demanding food aid arrested in Quezon City" - CNN

[2] "Duterte tells police, military to shoot unruly quarantine violators" - CNN

[3] "Proportion of Poor Filipinos registered at 21.0 percent" - Philippine Statistics Authority

[4] "A poverty assessment for the Philippines" - The World Bank

[5] "The Philippines, Covid-19 and debt: Left alone to deal with the pandemic" European Network on Debt and Development

[6] "DOLE estimates 10 million workers will lose jobs this year due to COVID-19 pandemic" - CNN

[7] "Typhoon Haiyan: at least 10,000 reported dead in Philippine province" - The Guardian

[8] "Typhoon Haiyan survivors in Philippines desperate for aid" - The CBC