BLESSED ART THOU is the story of Filipino activists advocating for the legalization of divorce and abortion rights in The Philippines as they confront ostracization and public shame for their outspoken advocacy in a devout and fiercely Catholic nation.
BLESSED ART THOU is the story of Filipino activists advocating for the legalization of divorce and abortion rights in The Philippines as they confront ostracization and public shame for their outspoken advocacy in a devout and fiercely Catholic nation. Inspired by the #MeToo movement in America, these activists re-energize and grow their movement exponentially creating Facebook groups, organizing rallies, and coining hashtags like #ReturntoDivorce and #DecriminalizeAbortionNow. We meet activists and learn about their journeys – marriages that fell apart despite endless prayers and their desperate desire to adhere to the “holy sanctity of marriage.” The film explores their struggles and living with the guilt of a “broken promise to God.”
Maximina Juson is an award-winning filmmaker and founder of HUMovies based in Los Angeles. Her debut feature film, "One Person, One Vote?" was the season opener for the critically acclaimed Independent Lens Series on PBS, yielding nearly 3MM viewers on its national broadcast and YouTube. The film was featured on The Daily Show, Forbes, and Deadline. Maximina Juson was Consulting Producer (and Additional Camera) for Mama Bears, a documentary exploring the transformative experience of conservative, Christian mothers who decide to accept their LGBTQ children, which premiered at SXSW in 2022 — In 2018, she produced Harlem Rising for The Harlem Children’s Zone. The documentary, drawing upon 30 years of archival footage, is a history of the organization’s efforts to “break the cycle of generational poverty” for Harlem families. Juson also shot, produced and directed a video web series for The Washtenaw ID Project, an organization that helps disenfranchised communities and individuals obtain a valid government-issued ID in Washtenaw County, Michigan.
