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MANILA: Pulled from screens days before its premiere, a Philippine documentary about the daily struggles of Filipino fishermen and coast guards is now winning big abroad, turning the spotlight onto the disputed South China Sea and Manila’s tensions with Beijing. 

“Food Delivery: Fresh from the West Philippine Sea,” by Filipino filmmaker Baby Ruth Villarama, was initially set for a Philippine premiere in March. However, it was dropped from the lineup of the PureGold CinePanalo Film Festival in Manila with organizers citing “external factors.”

The film’s title refers to the Philippine part of the South China Sea lying within the country’s exclusive economic zone, an area central to a long-running dispute over the strategic waterway between Manila and Beijing. 

Seeking to highlight the “human” side of tensions beyond geopolitical framing, it centers on the story of Filipino fishermen “who risk their lives every day” and the quiet efforts of Philippine coast guard personnel to keep them safe despite limited resources, Villarama told Arab News. 

“They see it as their duty, their lifeblood, and their birthright. What struck us most was not anger or fear, but a deep sense of quiet dignity. These are men who wake before sunrise, not minding what dangers await them, yet they sail because they must feed their families and uphold traditions passed down for generations,” she said. 

“They don’t use the word ‘patriotism,’ but they live it. For them, the West Philippine Sea isn’t an idea. It’s home. It’s where they survive, dream, and stand their ground. Their courage is unassuming, but it is fierce.”

The documentary went on to have its world premiere at the Doc Edge Festival in New Zealand, where it won the Tides of Change prize earlier this month.

“International recognition gave the film credibility, but it was really the solidarity of communities here and abroad that could make the screening possible on the 27th (of July),” Villarama said.  “We’re just hoping for the best.”

Before the film made its international debut in New Zealand, it faced pressure from the Chinese Consulate-General in Auckland, which lodged a formal protest to festival organizers and requested the film’s scheduled screenings were canceled. 

Despite a 2016 international tribunal ruling in favor of the Philippines’ claims China continues to assert its historical claims to the waters, through which an estimated $5.3 trillion worth of commercial goods transit annually.

In a letter to organizers later posted online, the Chinese consulate said the film was “rife with disinformation and false propaganda, serving as a political tool for Philippines to pursue illegitimate claims in the South China Sea.”

But for its creators, the film was always about the Filipino audience.

“We made ‘Food Delivery’ to hold up a mirror to the truth — not to divide, but to help us see more clearly what is happening in our own waters. Because no matter where we stand on politics or personal beliefs, one thing is certain: The West Philippine Sea is part of our story. It is part of who we are,” Chuck Gutierrez, co-founder of documentary producer Voyage Studios, told Arab News.

“The truth is, we did not make this film to antagonize anyone. Our goal was simple — to show the day-to-day reality faced by Filipinos at the West Philippine Sea. What we captured came from firsthand experiences, not secondhand narratives. These are voices that have long been unheard.” 

Winning the award in New Zealand was a “deeply affirming moment” for Gutierrez and his team. 

“It means that telling the truth, especially when it is inconvenient or uncomfortable, is still worth fighting for,” he said. “Despite the forces that tried to silence the story we were telling, the truth found its voice and resonated with an international audience.”

MADRID: Several dozen French passengers were removed from a flight leaving the Spanish city of Valencia for Paris for what Spanish police and the airline on Thursday described as unruly behavior.

The carrier, Vueling, denied reports that Wednesday’s incident, which involved the removal of 44 minors and eight adults from flight V8166, was related to the passengers’ religion.

Some Israeli news outlets reported that the students are Jewish and that their removal was religiously motivated, a claim that was repeated by an Israeli minister online.

Spain’s Civil Guard said the minors and adults are French nationals. A Civil Guard spokesperson said the agents involved were not aware of the group’s religious affiliation.

A Vueling spokesperson said the passengers were removed after the minors repeatedly tampered with the plane’s emergency equipment and interrupted the crew’s safety demonstration.

“A group of passengers engaged in highly disruptive behavior and adopted a very confrontational attitude, putting at risk the safe conduct of the flight,” Vueling said in a statement. “We categorically deny any suggestion that our crew’s behavior related to the religion of the passengers involved.”

A Civil Guard spokesperson said the captain of the plane ordered the removal of the minors from the plane at Valencia’s Manizes Airport after they repeatedly ignored the crew’s instructions.

On Thursday, the Federation for Jewish Communities of Spain expressed concern about the incident. The group said that Vueling needed to provide documentary evidence of what happened on the plane.

“The various accounts circulating on social media and in the media to which we have had access do not clarify the cause of the incident,” the organization said.

“We are particularly interested in clarifying whether there were any possible religiously discriminatory motives toward the minors,” the group said.

The Civil Guard said 23 minors and two adults from the group boarded a flight belonging to another airline, while the rest spent Wednesday night at a hotel.

The spokesperson said arrangements were being made for them to leave Valencia later Thursday.