Film on Typhoon Haiyan recovery: Triumph over trauma

Tacloban boys Kenneth Imperial, Julius Coringcoting and Jarred Troy Regis: From trauma to triumph

Tacloban boys Kenneth Imperial, Julius Coringcoting and Jarred Troy Regis: From trauma to triumph


The film ‘Fields of Hope’ will screen on April 23 as part of the Manhattan Film Festival in New York City. It follows three boys, Jarred, Julius, and Kenneth, who endured the worst of Super Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) when it devastated Leyte in 2013. Through their participation in the Mission Tacloban grassroots football (soccer) program, they come back from the trauma of the typhoon to recovery and triumph on the field.

The football program was initially planned to be a one-time tournament, simply to bring joy back to the dispirited survivors of the storm. It grew to an annual event with a regular training program, and its participants have gone on to train with elite football clubs and even to play for the Pope.

In the accompanying audio story, Rosalind Tordesillas speaks to Ginggay Hontiveros, Mission Tacloban director, about the birth of the football program and its role in rebuilding the children’s lives and community in Leyte. She also speaks to the film’s director, Troy Bernardo, about the making of the film.

‘Fields of Hope’
Manhattan Film Festival
April 23, 5:30 pm
Players Theatre
115 MacDougal St.
New York NY 10012

To buy tickets, click here.

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