CO-LIT 2 | IMMANUEL BY KWENTONG CREATIVES
Immanuel by Kwentong Creatives
A film by Gio Puyat
Members:
Ang
Asilo
Baldelovar
Dalid
Generalao
Villaleon
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INTRODUCTION 𝜗𝜚 ࣪˖ ִ𐙚
“Immanuel,” a short film by Kwentong Creatives, presents a family struggling to survive in a poisoned environment where clean air is scarce. Its story is centered on environmental degradation and societal disparity, and how those 2 factors affect a person’s morality and actions. In the film, the protagonist, Leo Sagaysay, is a mere oxygen factory worker. He suffered the consequences of gambling his oxygen cubes and was caught stealing. At first glance, his actions may seem selfish and self-centered; however, upon examining the whole picture, he is driven by the pressure to provide for his family at home and, simultaneously, to ensure his own survival. He believes he is doing what's best for his family, but instead, he deprived others of their right to live as well.
The film is set in a post-apocalyptic and dystopian future Philippines. When viewed through the philosophical lenses of catastrophe and capitalism, the catastrophe they've experienced is manmade from years of neglect and exploitation. The people in the film suffer from the effects of capitalism as the oxygen cubes, which serve as their currency, are being distributed unequally to the citizens and are being abused by those with power.
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SUMMARY 𝜗𝜚 ࣪˖ ִ𐙚
In a polluted future Philippines, the short film "Immanuel" by Kwentong Creatives tells the story of a small family trying to survive in a world where breathing clean air is no longer free. Thy sky is poisoned, and people must wear oxygen masks to live. Only those with money and power can afford enough oxygen, while poor families struggle every day. The story focuses on a hardworking father who works endlessly, not for comfort, but simply so his wife and son can breathe. Every day, the father worries that the oxygen he can afford will not be enough to keep his family alive. He works in difficult conditions and makes many sacrifices just to have 3 oxygen cubes. His struggle shows how human greed has destroyed the environment and turned survival into a privilege. The system controls their lives, leaving poor people with no power and no choice.
The film raises important questions about morality, responsibility, and freedom. It shows that when life becomes harder, people are forced to choose between doing what is right and doing what they need to survive. Immanuel is not only about the future, but a warning that if people continue to ignore the environment, society itself will suffer the consequences.
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ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION 𝜗𝜚 ࣪˖ ִ𐙚
The short film Immanuel was made by Kwentong Creatives, who are a group of talented Filipino filmmakers that mainly focus on showcasing the harsh reality of our society. Although the identity of these filmmakers remains hidden, most likely due to privacy reasons, the films they produce are quite eye-opening, especially to those who are doubtful of the major issues being faced all around the globe. Issues such as poverty, corruption, prejudice, and pollution all appear in the films they make. In this film, the world they have depicted is heavily polluted to the point where oxygen has now become a luxury and currency. This shows the viewers a potential future if we ever decide to completely disregard our own basic needs, as well as the needs of the environment.
The narrative is anchored by the profound literary themes of Social Evil of society because of the major crises of discrimination, slavery, inequality, and wrongdoings. The Effects of Capitalism: the usage of currency as oxygen cubes as a reward for completing tedious tasks, and Catastrophe, because it revolves around the effects of manmade calamities and pollution. Consequently, the film implores between faith and the physical world, often portraying Sagaysay’s internal struggle as a mirror for the universal human desire to be able to live a normal life. Ultimately, the film serves as a meditation on redemption through vulnerability, arguing that true connection with the divine or the self requires the shedding of one's protective layers.
Clustered by air and mass pollution, the story focuses on the characters: Sagaysay, a factory worker and father; and Rubi, the mother, who also struggles alongside their young son. The narrative depicts their rundown home and the industrial oxygen factory, with the conflict revolving around Man vs. Nature and Man vs. Society. Where natural air has become a living job to expend. The plot begins with Sagaysay scavenging for materials and scraps, then the tension rises because a former worker who cries for oxygen cubes is rejected, leading Sagaysay to gamble for more oxygen cubes. In a climactic betrayal, the family discovers their vital oxygen supply has been stolen by the very worker they eventually pitied and helped. Told through a third-person point of view that captures the desperation of both the parents and the community, the film concludes with an open ending; though Sagaysay manages a last-minute rescue for his wife and child, the story leaves viewers to grapple with the material cognitive reasoning of a world where survival often demands the sacrifice of morality.
Portraying a sophisticated genre-blend, it is primarily focused as Magical Realism, while also mixed in elements of Psychological Drama. By grounding its narrative in a recognizable reality and then introducing inexplicable, supernatural occurrences, the film challenges the viewer’s perception of what is normal and utilizes the tropes of a story to explore themes of faith, isolation, and identity, but elevates the experience through a Surrealism type of genre lens that prioritizes emotional truth over literal logic. Lastly, this mixture of genres allows Immanuel to move beyond simple storytelling, transforming into a visual meditation on the divine or the uncanny within the mundane.
In "Immanuel", the short film shows how environmental neglect and societal rules are influenced by cultural values, social norms, and political structures present. The film shows a community shaped by collective consciousness towards survival and labor, fighting cultural norms that dictate against crises. This film highlights how political decisions under governance shape social conditions and states of the society against environmental and societal challenges or issues. "Immanuel" illustrates how traditions and shared beliefs normalize environmental degradation leading to the community prioritizing rigid social hierarchies and political structures. The film further emphasizes that the limitation of society being able to respond or adapt to crises is because of unchanged cultural values and rigid social norms.
From the film, the social issues being shown are the visibly degraded environment wherein air is scarce, and the unfair access to basic human needs, such as what was shown in the film which was the oxygen that is being controlled by those in power. This dystopian world and why it looks like that all boils down to the extremity of the pollution caused by the disregard of humans which affects everyone in our society. These issues affect individuals and as well as families due to the immense struggle to survive caused by the lack of air, which would result in the threatening of their very own survival. People, especially families, need to know how to manage their resources wisely, which in this case would be the oxygen cubes. At a societal level, this would affect the already present inequality in our society and deepen it further due to those in power being able to acquire the resources they need, leaving those without this said power to struggle and work for basic human resources. In the film it is repeated through a speaker that “The survival of the community depends on each worker. Laziness on the job is not acceptable.”, despite the higher-ups of the company repeating this line to seemingly boost the morale of the workers, they themselves have the supply needed to distribute to those in need yet, presumably due to corporate greed, they made it profitable for themselves only. This causes marginalized groups of people, who are already struggling, to struggle even further in order to provide what was supposed to be basic necessity for all. These issues need to be addressed immediately since our own survival depends on it. The environment that we currently live in might end up becoming like the one shown in the film if we don’t take good care of it immediately. The survival of our own kind is also at stake if we don’t immediately address this since as the word human needs already implies, it is the basic needs of all humans in order for us to continue through life. These issues that are present in this film are already becoming more and more visible in the real world, which is why it has to be our duty, as decent human beings, to lessen it in order to preserve what we still have right now, which is our culture, society and of course ourselves.
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CONCLUSION 𝜗𝜚 ࣪˖ ִ𐙚
To conclude, the film "Immanuel" simply exhibits a person’s moral responsibility that cannot be escaped, even in a society shaped by constant fear, pressure, and injustices systematized by the society’s norms. Evaluating from a different perspective, the short film demonstrates that ethical action is defined not by one's own convenience or survival, but by another individual’s willingness to recognize the humanity of others and act accordingly. Thus, enacting certain moments where Immanuel hesitates, reflects, and really confronts the moral weight of his decisions highlights Sagaysay’s claim that morality arises from one’s rational choice, formality of responsibility, and duty rather than emotion or self-interest.