Filipino director pushes back after Beijing tries to censor West PH Sea film

Filipino filmmaker Baby Ruth Villarama stands in front of a Philippine Coast Guard ship while shooting her documentary on the South China Sea. PHOTO: COURTESY OF VOYAGE STUDIOS

MANILA, Philippines – A Filipino documentary chronicling military resupply missions and fishermen’s daily struggles in the West Philippine Sea has sparked diplomatic tension after China attempted to halt the film’s initial screening.

Directed by acclaimed film-maker Baby Ruth Villarama and produced by Manila-based Voyage Studios, Food Delivery: Fresh From The West Philippine Sea was initially set to have its premiere in March at the PureGold CinePanalo Film Festival in Manila.

The title uses the term Filipinos officially call the portion of the South China Sea that lies within the Philippines’ 200-nautical-mile Exclusive Economic Zone, but which Beijing insists falls under its control.

READ: West Philippine Sea docu film ‘Food Delivery’ receives ‘PG’ rating from MTRCB

The film was quietly dropped from the Manila festival line-up due to what organizers cited as “external factors”. No official reason was given, but Ms Villarama’s team believes political pressure from China played a role.

“It was clear these efforts were not about artistic dialogue,” Ms Villarama told The Straits Times. “They were about control. The Chinese government has long used economic pressure to influence institutions into pushing a single narrative.

“But here is the thing: We have listened to their stories. We buy their products. We have watched their films and respect their culture. I just hope they have the same courage to listen and to watch ours this time.”

Despite the controversy, the Philippine premiere is set for July 27 at a popular shopping mall in Manila. The government’s board of censors had rated the film suitable for general viewing with parental guidance since March, days before it was pulled from the local film festival.

The film made its international debut on June 30 at the Doc Edge Festival in New Zealand, where it screened to positive reviews despite a formal protest from the Chinese Consulate-General in Auckland. Screenings in Wellington and Christchurch have been scheduled for later in July.

READ: PH docu on West PH Sea ‘deserves to be seen’ – Jinggoy Estrada

In a letter to festival organizers before the screening, which was later posted online, the Chinese Consulate-General called the film “rife with disinformation and false propaganda”, and urged the organizers to refrain from screening it, saying it would “mislead” the public and harm China-New Zealand relations.

Doc Edge rejected the request, affirming its commitment to “independence and curatorial freedom”. Food Delivery won the Tides of Change award, which the festival grants to films that highlight global issues, such as conflict, human rights and climate justice.

The Straits Times has reached out to the Chinese government for comment.

The controversy only drew more attention to Food Delivery, which offers rarely seen civilian and military perspectives from the Spratly Islands, a region in the disputed sea claimed by the Philippines, China, Brunei, Malaysia, Vietnam and Taiwan.

Told through the lens of Filipino troops delivering supplies to remote military outposts and fishermen facing Chinese harassment at sea, the film seeks to humanize an issue often framed in technical or political terms.

“It is about so much more than the West Philippine Sea. It is about how food, a basic human need, becomes a language for connection, resistance and care,” said Ms Villarama. “And in that way, it becomes something every audience can understand – Filipino, Chinese or anyone who has ever craved meaning in the middle of chaos.”

Despite the global attention, Food Delivery has not secured commercial distribution in the Philippines. No major cinema operator has agreed to screen it as tensions between Manila and Beijing simmer on.

In general, documentaries rarely reach mainstream cinemas in the country, where commercial chains favor blockbuster fare. Independent film-makers often rely on film festivals, university circuits or grassroots community screenings.

Ms Villarama’s team has embraced this model, coordinating independent screenings with advocacy groups, schools and film collectives. The documentary will be shown again at the same Manila shopping mall in August, with more community screenings planned after that.

Associate Professor Danilo Arao, who teaches journalism at the University of the Philippines (UP), said China’s efforts to block the film reflect both media suppression and diplomatic overreach.

“It is not just an issue of media freedom, it is also an issue of overreach on the part of China because they are trying their best to deodorize their image and to control the narrative pertaining to what they claim to be control over the South China Sea, including the West Philippine Sea. So, it is deplorable that they are doing that,” he said.

Dr Arao believes the Philippine government should be more proactive in defending artists and journalists from foreign political pressure.

Ms Villarama said that since reports of China’s intervention in New Zealand, some Philippine officials have quietly reached out to her team.

“We are not expecting uniform support from them, especially when geopolitics are involved. But I do hope this film encourages our leaders to defend freedom of expression, and to stand with the people whose lives and labor make that freedom necessary,” she said.

Dr Aries Arugay, visiting senior fellow at the ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute in Singapore and chairman of UP’s Political Science Department, called China’s actions “undue intrusion into the internal affairs of another country”.

He said Beijing increasingly uses seemingly benign sectors such as trade, art and cultural exchange as tools of influence.

“There are no benign aspects of relationship with China because they can weaponize and use it against the country,” Dr Arugay told ST.

He said Food Delivery might not contain direct criticism of China, but its existence contradicts Beijing’s tightly managed narrative on the maritime dispute.

In April, then Senator Francis Tolentino accused the Chinese Embassy in Manila of running a “hidden and sinister” disinformation campaign to sway public opinion and discredit critics of Beijing’s South China Sea claims. China denied the allegation and has since banned Mr Tolentino from entering the mainland and its territories.

READ: China bars ex-senator Tolentino from entering its territories over WPS stance

Dr Arao and Dr Arugay said Food Delivery’s visual storytelling is especially powerful in the Philippines, where television and cinema heavily shape public consciousness.

“A documentary is potent from a Filipino cultural perspective because we are visual as a people. It will penetrate the public consciousness more, so it is threatening to them (China),” said Dr Arugay.

The backlash from Beijing has only strengthened Ms Villarama’s conviction that her film’s message is more urgent than ever.

“The attempts to block the film didn’t intimidate us. They clarified our purpose,” she said.

“Food Delivery isn’t just about delivering food. It is delivering a message: that Filipinos have had enough. Enough of being pushed aside, erased or told who we are. It is a call to remember who we are, and who we must never become”. /dl