Press Release, 14 December 2025
The documentary film My Friend the Terrorist was screened for the first time in the Netherlands yesterday, 13 December, to an appreciative audience at BAK Basecamp for Tactical Imaginaries in Utrecht. Co-hosted by the Jose Maria Sison Legacy Foundation (JMSLF), Friends of the Filipino People in Struggle (FFPS) and Maya Solidarity, a local FFPS organization, the premiere included catering from Het Rode Keukentje/Little Red Kitchen, a merch market, and a Q&A panel discussion following the film.
The premiere also commemorated what will be the third anniversary of the passing of Jose Maria Sison, fondly remembered by some in the audience as “Ka (Comrade) Joma” on 16 December. The emcee recounted how “Ka Joma dedicated his life to fighting for the liberation of the Filipino people and building long standing solidarity and friendship with struggling people around the globe,” and that though “he knew he wouldn’t live to see the victory of the revolution, but he always remained optimistic that it was worth all the sacrifices for the liberated future that will come.” The emcee reminded the audience that the premiere also carried special significance due to its location in Utrecht, where Ka Joma and his comrade-wife Ka Julie lived the latter part of their lives in exile, and by being hosted at BAK Basecamp for Tactical Imaginaries, “a space that has a long history of support for the Filipino community in Utrecht.”
Doors and reception opened at 18:00 with a warm welcome of food from the Little Red Kitchen for the filmgoers to enjoy before and during the program. The film was screened to a crowded auditorium, with Ka Julie and long-time comrade Coni Ledesma of the National Democratic Front of the Philippines peace negotiating panel in the front row. The audience were captured from the very beginning with peals of laughter and tears throughout the documentary.
The film was followed by a heartfelt and lively question and answer period to an assembled panel that was made up of Malcolm Guy, one of the film’s directors, Marie Boti from the film’s production company Multi-Monde, Ka Julie, and representatives of JMSLF and FFPS/Maya Solidarity. Audience members commented on how the film portrayed an intimate, humorous, and humanizing portrait of the terror-tagged revolutionary-in-exile and his family and community in the Dutch city.
The panelists fielded questions from the audience on Ka Joma and Ka Julie’s activism starting from their days as young students in the Philippines, to their lives in exile in Utrecht and their experiences being filmed. Reflecting on the film, Ka Julie said: “The film was very enjoyable and entertaining. It showed the facets of our life here in Utrecht.” Paul Evers of FFPS/Maya Solidarity commented, “As someone who does not live in the Philippines, the time the movie spends with the revolutionary movement is really valuable. It not only shows the life of Ka Joma and Ka Julie but also their legacy. It shows how the movement they contributed their lives to is much bigger than just them, with millions ready to take over the torch of the struggle Ka Joma and Ka Julie started.”
Ka Coni thanked the filmmakers for their work, saying it was “very moving for me because I got to see Joma again. The humor and the humanity. You showed Joma through the years and the ending was beautiful.” Many filmgoers commented how the film shows “the human aspect of revolution, of exile, of politics.” The film was also a reflection of the deep and longstanding friendship between the filmmakers and Ka Joma and Ka Julie.
Indeed, the aspect of broadening the audience for the story of Ka Joma and Ka Julie beyond activist circles was important to the filmmakers, as Malcolm reflected during the Q&A: “We tried to make our film for a broad audience and not only an activist audience. But you find that when you make it for a broad audience it works for the activist as well.” One audience member expressed how the film made them understand that the “tale of love” is not just Ka Joma and Ka Julie’s, but also one of “undying revolution, freedom and the people of the Philippines! It’s their legacy, life, battles and people they’ve touched… it’s love in its extendable broadest meaning.”
The day ended with chants of “Onwards to the revolution!” and “Ka Joma Lives!” showing that the legacy and message of Ka Joma continue to live within people’s hearts and inform people’s actions.
