The Movie:MURO-AMI (Reef Hunter)

MURO AMI "Reef Hunters"

Muro Ami is a film that depicts one of the worst forms of child labor in the illegal fishing system. Fredo is the ruthless captain of 150 Muro Ami divers. The illegal fishing is done by pounding and crushing corals underwater to scare the fishes and luring them towards the nets. With a high quota to meet, Fredo forces the divers mostly children, to accomplish at least eight dives a day to meet their goal before the millennium. Tired and harassed after the burdening task being given to them, the children have to make do in subhuman conditions in the Aurora, the Muro Ami boat. They sleep in rat-infested bunks and are fed only twice a day. Life above the boat is much worse than the suffering the children encounter beneath the sea. For every dive, a child's life is perilously in danger.

Awards and Citations:
Winner of thirteen awards at the 1999 Metro Manila Film Festival including
Best Child Performer (Rebecca Lusterio),
Best Story ( Marilou Diaz-Abaya, Ricardo Lee, Jun Lana),
Best Screenplay (Ricardo Lee and Jun Lana),
Best Director (Marilou Diaz-Abaya) and
Best Picture
Direction: Marilou Diaz-Abaya
Screenplay: Ricardo Lee and Jun Lana
Cinematography: Rody Lacap
Film Editing: Jesus Navarro
Production Design: Leo Abaya
Art Direction: Bonna Fajardo and Mannix Mateo
Music: Nonong Buencamino
Producers: Butch Jimenez, Jimmy Duavit, Marilou Diaz-Abaya


Cast:
Fredo - Cesar Montano
Dado - Pen Medina
Susan - Amy Austria
Botong - Jhong Hilario
Kalbo - Rebecca Lusterio

1999 Color 117 minutes Production Company: GMA Network, Inc

A critically - acclaimed portrayal of the lives of Philippines' child laborers who fish to survive.