PBS’ ‘POV’ Acquires Environmental Thriller ‘Delikado’ Following Hot Docs Premiere (EXCLUSIVE)

variety.com:

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor“POV,” the Emmy-winning PBS documentary series, has announced the acquisition of environmental thriller “Delikado” as part of its upcoming 35th season.The film, which premiered April 29 at the Hot Docs Canadian Intl.

Documentary Festival, is the directorial debut of award-winning journalist Karl Malakunas. “Delikado” is produced by two-time Emmy nominees Marty Syjuco and Michael Collins (POV’s “Almost Sunrise,” “Give Up Tomorrow”), as well as Kara Magsanoc-Alikpala.“Delikado” takes place in the Philippines on the island of Palawan, a Unesco World Heritage site with one of the oldest, largest and most diverse rainforests in the world.

It is also the country’s “last ecological frontier” and one of the deadliest places for land defenders in the world, next to Brazil, the Congo and Colombia.

The film follows three inspirational leaders – a charismatic lawyer, an ex-illegal logger and a fearless politician – as they work with indigenous communities trying to save their increasingly valuable natural resources from being plundered. “Delikado” also offers an exposé of President Rodrigo Duterte’s “war on drugs” in the Philippines, which has claimed thousands of lives – showing it chiefly as a tool for Duterte and his allies to control the levers of economic and political power.