Muro-Ami (film)

Muro-Ami (Reef Hunters) is a Filipino film. It depicts one of the worst forms of child labor in the illegal fishing system. The film follows the story of Fredo, a ruthless captain of 150 muro-ami divers, who employ illegal fishing practices, such as pounding and crushing corals to scare fish, driving them towards the nets. With a high quota to meet, Fredo forces the divers, who consist mostly of children, to accomplish at least eight dives a day to meet their goal before the millennium. Tired and harassed after the burdensome task being given to them, the children have to make do in subhuman conditions in the Muro Ami boat, The Aurora. They sleep in rat-infested bunks and are fed only twice a day. Life above the water in the boat is much worse than the suffering the children encounter beneath the sea. For every dive, a child's life is perilously in danger.

Muro-Ami (Reef Hunters)
GMA Films' Muro Ami (Reef Hunters)
Directed byMarilou Diaz-Abaya
Produced by
  • Butch Jimenez
  • Jimmy Duavit
  • Marilou Diaz-Abaya
Screenplay by
Story byMarilou Diaz-Abaya
StarringCesar Montano
Music byNonong Buencamino
CinematographyRody Lacap
Edited byJesus Navarro
Production
company
GMA Films
Distributed byGMA Network
Release date
  • 25 December 1999 (1999-12-25)
Running time
114 minutes
CountryPhilippines
LanguageFilipino

The film has won 13 out of 14 nominations in the 1999 Metro Manila Film Festival, including Best Picture.

Plot

Fredo (Cesar Montano) is a fisherman who has endured more than his share of hardship in life; his wife and child both perished in a boating accident, and today Fredo approaches each trip to the sea with the angry determination of a man out for revenge. Fredo commands a crew of young people from poor families as he takes his rattletrap ship into the ocean in search of fish that live along the reefs, snaring catch with an illegal netting system. Not all of Fredo's youthful sailors are willing to put up with his abusive arrogance, however, and even his father Dado (Pen Medina) and close friend Botong (Jhong Hilario) have grown weary of Fredo's tirades. Fredo's body is beginning to betray him as well, and as he and his crew damage the sea's reef beds in search of fish, no one is certain how much longer he will be able to continue.

Cast

Production

Production Credits

  • Direction: Marilou Diaz-Abaya
  • Screenplay: Ricardo Lee and Jun Lana
  • Cinematography: Rody Lacap
  • Film Editing: Jesus Navarro
  • Production Design: Leo Abaya
  • Art Direction: Bonna Fajardo and Mannix Mateo
  • Music: Nonong Buencamino
  • Producers: Butch Jimenez, Jimmy Duavit, Marilou Diaz-Abaya

Accolades
Year Award-Giving Body Category Recipient Result
1999 Metro Manila Film Festival [1] Best Picture Muro-Ami Won
Best Director Marilou Diaz-Abaya Won
Best Actor Cesar Montano Nominated
Best Supporting Actor Pen Medina Won
Best Cinematography Rody Lacap Won
Best Production Design Leo Abaya Won
Best Editing Jess Navarro and Manet Dayrit Won
Best Child Performer Rebecca Lusterio Won
Best Original Story Marilou Diaz-Abaya, Ricardo Lee and Jun Lana Won
Best Screenplay Ricardo Lee and Jun Lana Won
Best Musical Score Nonong Buencamino Won
Best Visual Effects Marc Ambat (Optima Digital) Won
Best Sound Recording Albert Michael Idioma Won
Gatpuno Antonio J. Villegas Cultural Awards Muro-Ami Won
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See also

References
  1. "Metro Manila Film Festival:1999". IMDB. Retrieved 2014-04-09.
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