On the President's Orders

On the President's Orders

2019 · 70 min · ★ 6.9 · Documentary

The searing story of President Duterte's bloody campaign against drug dealers and addicts in the Philippines, told with unprecedented and intimate access to both sides of the war - the Manila police, and an ordinary family from the slum. Shot in the style of a thriller, this observational film combines the look and feel of a narrative feature film with a real life revelatory journalistic investigation into a campaign of killings. The film uncovers a murky world where crime, drugs and politics meet in a deathly embrace - and reveal that although the police have been publicly ordered to stop extra-judicial killings, the deaths continue.

Directed by Olivier Sarbil

Your Rating

Where to Watch

Streaming

Rent or Buy

Cast

Rodrigo Duterte Self

Make it a double feature

2h 44m together

On the President's Orders

Retrograde

Both from Olivier Sarbil.

More from Olivier SarbilSee all →

Retrograde

Retrograde · 2022

MovieDocumentaryWar

The story of the last months of the 20-year war in Afghanistan through the intimate relationship between American Green Berets and the Afghan officers they trained.

Frontline

Frontline · 1983

SeriesDocumentaryNews

Since it began in 1983, Frontline has been airing public-affairs documentaries that explore a wide scope of the complex human experience. Frontline's goal is to extend the impact of the documentary beyond its initial broadcast by serving as a catalyst for change.

The Riots 2011: One Week in August

The Riots 2011: One Week in August · 2021

The Riots 2011: One Week in August

MovieDocumentaryCrime

2011 saw the largest wave of disorder in the UK since the 1980s. This revelatory film hears from the people who experienced the riots up close and personal. A decade on, we look back at the summer of 2011 through the eyes of those whose lives have never been the same since. In a series of candid interviews, we hear the story from all angles. Convicted rioters, frontline police, a judge, a government advisor and a grieving father look back at that week in August, and the years that followed, to piece together what really happened and why.

Escaping Eritrea

Escaping Eritrea · 2021

Escaping Eritrea

MovieDocumentary

An unprecedented undercover investigation into one of the world’s most repressive regimes — Eritrea. Exclusive secret footage and testimony shed new light on shocking allegations of torture, arbitrary detention and indefinite forced conscription.

Mosul

MovieDocumentary

Described by some military commanders as the deadliest urban combat since World War II, the battle to drive ISIS out of Mosul as the terror group held civilians captive there was brutal and grueling. Shot over the course of the entire nine-month fight, this vivid documentary follows the experiences of four young soldiers in a team of Iraqi Special Forces tasked with leading the battle.

Checkpoint Zoo

Checkpoint Zoo · 2024

MovieDocumentary

Checkpoint Zoo documents a daring rescue led by a heroic team of zookeepers and volunteers, who risked their lives to save thousands of animals trapped in a zoo behind enemy lines in the Russian Invasion of Ukraine.

Viktor

MovieDocumentary

Viktor, who was born deaf, worships the figure of the samurai warrior. When bombs start falling on his countryside home in Kharkiv, his quasi-romantic obsession with war is put to the test.

Hunting ISIS

Hunting ISIS · 2017

MovieDocumentary

FRONTLINE follows an elite special operations unit at the center of the fight against ISIS in Iraq. Also in this two-part hour: “Battle for Iraq,” a report by Ghaith Abdul-Ahad on the battle against ISIS for control of the city of Mosul.

More Like This

Couldn't load this row right now.

Rate this film

Your ratings make Midnight smarter