October 1, 2026 — A movie based on the bloody war on drugs in the Philippines made its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) last month.
The Tagalog-language Silenced Nights screened amid the looming trial of the man behind the brutal campaign that unleashed extrajudicial killings.
Former Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte will be tried before the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague starting on November 30, 2026 on charges of alleged crimes against humanity.
Directed by Lawrence Fajardo and written by Troy Espiritu, the movie follows a witness to a killing by police in the slums of Manila and his journey to make the truth known.
Drawing from real events, Silenced Nights evokes the murder of 17-year-old Kian Loyd delos Santos in an alleged shootout with police officers during an alleged bust in Caloocan City in 2017.
A video footage later surfaced showing cops dragging Delos Santos to an alley alive, contradicting the police’s version of a gunfight.
“With Silenced Nights, Fajardo has crafted a shocking and infuriating film that criticizes the police state and its intertwinement with government institutions,” John Lynn wrote in a review for the online International Cinephile Society.
When Duterte campaigned for the Philippine presidency in 2016, he promised a literal bloodbath.
In a major rally in Manila two days before the election, Duterte said that the fishes in Manila will grow fat feasting on cadavers.
“If you want to become rich after I am elected president, you should go into the funeral business,” he said to cheers by his supporters.
Duterte’s message resonated with voters, and he was elected in a landslide victory on May 9, 2016.
The killings that followed caught the attention of local and international observers, prompting complaints to be filed before the ICC.
Upon orders of Duterte, the Philippines withdrew from the Rome Statute, the international treaty that created the ICC. The withdrawal took effect in 2019.
However, the ICC retained jurisdiction over Duterte.
Duterte stepped down from office after his term ended in 2022, and his daughter Sara was elected vice president in a ticket with his successor Ferdinand “BBM” Marcos Jr.
On March 11, 2025, the former president was arrested at the Manila international airport and flown to The Hague, where he remains under ICC detention.
ICC prosecutors have charged Duterte with three counts of alleged crimes against humanity.
Actor Nico Antonio plays the lead role of Andoy, a labourer who witnesses the murder of teen Kerwin by police officers. Driven by conscience, he helps Kerwin’s mother Marissa, played by Lotlot de Leon, to find justice.
Per listing by the TIFF, the rest of the cast includes Ina Feleo, Tanya Gomez, Joel Saracho, Dylan Ray Talon, Mario Magallona, and Jorrybell Agoto.
Produced by Patricia Sumagui and Ferdinand Lapuz, Silenced Nights runs 112 minutes. The movie screened at the TIFF on September 12, 13, 15 and 18, 2026.
“The script is very true to life, a mirror of our times,” lead actor Antonio told the Manila Bulletin newspaper in July this year when word got around that the film will be part of an international film festival.
In the review for the International Cinephile Society, critic John Lynn noted that Fajardo has “explored social injustice and marginalized communities throughout his career, including in films such as Amok, Posas, Imbisibol, and more recently The Hearing”.
“With Silenced Nights, he again focuses on ordinary people who find themselves up against institutions with vastly more power than they possess. Andoy is not an activist or politician; he is simply a working man who happened to see something he was not supposed to see,” Lynn wrote.
In the movie, Andoy lay low after witnessing the killing out of fear, but he eventually found the courage to tell the truth after meeting grieving mother Marissa.
As the tagline for Silenced Nights goes, ““Where fear prevails, justice is silenced.”
Meanwhile, Duterte’s daughter Sara is a leading contender for the next presidential election in the Philippines in 2028.
However, the younger Duterte herself is fighting for political survival, as she will be disqualified from public office if convicted as a result of her ongoing impeachment trial.
CanadianFilipino.Net wrote about Silenced Nights in the lead-up to the TIFF here:
Filipino film Silenced Nights gets crack at Oscars via Toronto film festival - Informing, Engaging and Connecting Community
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