HISTORICAL film “EDJOP: The Movie” revisits the radicalization of Martial Law activist Edgar Jopson while drawing parallels between the political struggles of his generation and divisions confronting young Filipinos today.
Filmmaker Katski Flores traces Jopson’s transformation from a privileged student leader who believed in reform and dialogue into an underground activist during the dictatorship of the late Ferdinand Marcos Sr.
“The real problem is we all seem to have lost our way in figuring out why we’re here,” Flores told the Varsitarian.
Jopson, portrayed by Elijah Canlas, began his activism while studying at Ateneo de Manila University, where his political awareness grew after reading “Down from the Hill,” an article in the student publication that called on the university community to confront the country’s political problems.
Despite his privileged background, Jopson became increasingly involved in activism and eventually broadened his organizing work to include the labor sector.
“Why has it boiled down to: if you’re not for this politician, then you must be for the other politician?” Flores said.
The film chronicles Jopson’s development as a young activist and his eventual shift from reformism to activism.
Jopson, initially portrayed as a “man who believes in dialogue,” eventually went underground and joined the Communist Party of the Philippines.
Flores said the college years were among the most formative periods in a person’s life, when young people are “at your most impressionable” and “at your most impactful.”
“That idealism, that activism—hindi mo naman kailangang maging underground gaya ni Edjop, ‘di ba—that is needed today more than ever,” she said.
(That idealism, that activism—you do not have to go underground like Edjop, right?—is needed today more than ever.)
UST journalism faculty member Christian Esguerra portrays Marcos Sr. in the film.
Jopson’s daughter Joyette, who co-produced the film, also figures prominently in its narrative.
Flores said Joyette’s experience helped shape her approach to the story. The younger Jopson had resented her father’s activism, believing that he had abandoned his family and sacrificed his life for nothing.
The film later shifts partly to Joyette’s perspective as she comes to understand her father’s activism and the choices that led him away from his family.
By incorporating the daughter’s perspective, the film examines Jopson’s legacy not only through his political activities but also through their consequences for his family.
Thomasian cinematographer Neil Daza sought to distinguish the film’s past and present timelines through its visual treatment.
“Ang role naman ng cinematography is to enhance ‘yong essence ng eksena, to enhance ‘yong narrative, emotions of a particular scene, and, in general, for the whole film,” Daza said.
(The role of cinematography is to enhance the essence of a scene, its narrative and emotions and, in general, the whole film.)
The film uses muted color grading to distinguish periods and reinforce the tension surrounding its characters.
Its dialogue, however, is uneven in places. Shifts between Filipino and English occasionally result in stilted delivery and awkward exchanges.
In her acting debut as the young Joy Jopson, Kakie Pangilinan brings restraint to the role of Jopson’s wife. Flores acknowledged that casting Pangilinan was a gamble but described her as “one to watch.”
Canlas anchors the film as Jopson, portraying his transition from student leader to underground activist and carrying many of the film’s most forceful political exchanges.
More than four decades after Jopson’s death, Flores said the film seeks to introduce his idealism and activism to another generation of young Filipinos.
“EDJOP is really about firing up hope, inspiration, and idealism from the youth, because the youth are the ones who carry it,” she said. Rhamiel Mae T. Vicente and Alejandro Mari E. Eusebio
