Edjop

Official Selection, 2026 Tokyo International Film Festival

How do people get justice when the executors of the law manipulate it to benefit the already rich and powerful? This is the very question that fabled activist Edgar Jospon was killed for trying to answer; the same question his triathlete daughter, Joyette, has been running from her entire life.

Before he was the revolutionary activist Edjop, Edgar (Elijah Canlas) was a devoted student of law and justice. The son of a successful grocer, he grew up educated among the wealthy in Manila, optimistic about the mutual interest in the common good. That is until 1969, when Ferdinand Marcos’s campaign spending overwhelmed the Philippines with national debt, inflation, and depreciation of the peso, spurring social turmoil. From his beginnings as a respected student leader in the First Quarter Storm, EDJOP follows Jopson’s propulsion into life as a revolutionary—sacrificing a life of affluence and fatherhood for the greater good.

Framed by Joyette’s navigation of her familial trauma, EDJOP recalls the faint memory of the Philippines under martial law, which continues to haunt the present. Jodi Sta. Maria delivers a masterclass performance as Joyette, celebrating the outspoken organizers and heroes we too often take for granted. Director Katski Flores cuts through the brutality of martial law with the community joy and unity behind revolution, envisioning a better future for all through a united front against corruption.

– Jeremy Aranda