Storm Children: Book One

The Philippines is the most storm-exposed country on Earth. However, no storm was as strong as Typhoon Haiyan back in 2013, known in the Philippines as Super Typhoon Yolanda. The storm generated waves up to 15 meters high that destroyed the port city of Tacloban and extended a kilometer inland. A few months after the natural disaster, Diaz films the lives of children in Tacloban who lost their families to the storm and are struggling to survive in their new post-apocalyptic reality. The film’s impressive, documentary imagery is reminiscent of Diaz's live-action, epic dramas. In a series of slow, hypnotic shots, he manages to convey feelings of tenacity and perseverance in this fight for survival. Set against the backdrop of photogenic, doom-like images, the question arises as to what awaits a generation that was forced to grow up too fast. (Ji.hlava International Documentary Film Festival)