Give Up Tomorrow

A film by Michael Collins & Marty Syjuco

The trial of the century

As a tropical storm beats down on an island in the Philippines, two sisters leave work and never make it home…Simultaneously a murder—mystery and an expose of endemic corruption today, GIVE UP TOMORROW looks intimately at the case of Paco Larranaga, a student accused of killing two sisters on the provincial island of Cebu. In a way that is both specific to the country and disquietingly universal, the film exposes a Kafkaesque extravaganza populated by flamboyantly crooked public officials, cops on the take, and a frenzied legal and media circus. GIVE UP TOMORROW is also an intimate family drama focused on the near mythic struggle of two angry, sorrowful mothers who have dedicated more than a decade to executing or saving one young man. Their irreconcilable versions of justice play out in a controversial case, dubbed “The Trial of the Century”, that ends a country’s use of capital punishment, yet fails to free an innocent man.

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Director

Michael Collins & Marty Syjuco

Producer

Michael Collins and Marty Syjuco

Runtime

95 & 60 Minutes

Rights Represented

International Rights

Captions Available

English

Language

English, Filipino, Spanish

Press

“Jaw-dropping… hard to turn away from.”

- The Guardian

“An incredible story, beautifully and persuasively told. As well paced and engrossing as any thriller while incalculably more harrowing.”

-

“An exceptional film. Prepare to be outraged.”

- The Globe and Mail

“Docus about abuses of justice abound, but few present complicated events in so concrete, linear, and compelling a fashion.”

- Variety
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Festival & Awards

18 awards: including 7 Audience Awards-
4 Human Rights Awards and the Activism Award at Michael Moore’s Film Festival
WINNER: Audience Award & Special Jury Prize—TRIBECA Film Festival
WINNER: Audience Award—SHEFFIELD Doc/Fest
Official Selection #2 Audience Favorite—HOTDOCS
Official Selection #8 Audience Favorite—IDFA Best of Fests
WINNER: Audience Award—MOVIES THAT MATTER Film Festival
WINNER: Audience Award—ANTENNA SYDNEY
WINNER: Audience Award—SAN SEBASTIAN Human Rights Film Festival Film Festival
WINNER: Audience Award—VALENCIA Human Rights Film Festival
WINNER: Audience Award & Human Rights Award—LOS ANGELES Asian Pacific Film Festival
WINNER: TV3 Human Rights Award—DOCS BARCELONA Film Festival
WINNER: Human Rights Award—GALWAY Film Fleadh
WINNER: Activism Award—TRAVERSE CITY Film Festival
WINNER: Advocacy Award—DALLAS Asian Film Festival
WINNER: Best Documentary—NATIONAL FILM SOCIETY
WINNER: Best Documentary—ANCHORAGE Film Festival
WINNER: Editing Award—SALEM Film Fest, WINNER: Harvest of Honors—PHILIPPINES
WINNER: Special Jury Award—DMZ KOREA Film Festival

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Give Up Tomorrow

The trial of the century

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