Magnetic Letters

Runtime: 90'

Expected release: June 2026

Production stage: Late production, early post-production

Budget: €332,097 (33% in place)

1st feature: Yes

Looking for: Distributor, sales agent, festivals, public and private partners

Synopsis:

Magnetic Letters uncovers private and intimate memories recorded on cassette tapes by Filipino overseas workers from the late 1980s and the 1990s, revealing unforeseen emotional consequences of labor migration. The Philippines is one of the largest suppliers of skilled workers overseas, resulting in many children growing up without their parents. By interweaving personal and collective stories, the filmmaker confronts her distant relationship with her patriarchal father, who was a former migrant worker in Saudi Arabia for 12 years.

Director’s Profile:

Demie Dangla is a Filipina filmmaker and photographer whose work delves into creative documentaries, experimental, and multimedia. She is an alumna of Berlinale Talents (2023, Germany), Docs by the Sea (2023, Indonesia), IDFAcademy (2023, The Netherlands), Full Circle Lab (2024, Philippines) and was selected to pitch at Visions du Réel (2024, Switzerland) and Cannes Docs (2025, France). Her storytelling practice started in journalism. She has worked as a writer, researcher and producer for TV documentary shows, and as photojournalist and videographer for an alternative and collective media group that focuses on documenting marginalized communities in the Philippines. In 2016, she was granted the National Geographic Young Explorer award. Her independent works have been shown at Gawad Alternatibo, Cinema Rehiyon, Angkor Photo Festival and Workshops, Hong Kong International Photo Festival, Kuala Lumpur Experimental Film, Video and Music Festival, and DIFFUSION Festival.

 

 

 

Producer’s Profile:

Gale Osorio is a film producer and co-founder of Archipelago, a film boutique under Binisaya Movement. An alumna of Berlinale Talents, Busan Asian Film School, and TFL ScriptLab Story Editing, Gale is known for her close collaboration with Director Keith Deligero. Her films have screened at major international film festivals like Berlinale International Film Festival, Sundance Film Festival and the Museum of Modern Art’s New Directors New Films Festival, and a few have been acquired by ZDF Arte and The Criterion Channel. With a strong focus on Philippine regional cinema and nurturing emerging talents into bold film auteurs, Gale has presented her work at Link of Cine-Asia, All Genres Project Market, Torino Short Film Market, Hong Kong – Asian Film Financing Forum, BIFAN NAFF It Project Market, FNC Nouveau Marché, Sitges FanPitch, Docs by the Sea, and Taiwan Creative Content Fest, among others. Currently, she works on entertainment projects for Netflix, Prime Video, iWantTV, etc.

Philippe Djivas has a degree in audiovisual law, economics and management. He is a member of Eurodoc. He created Dynamo Production with which he produced nearly 40 documentaries. He produced All Grown Up by Wena Sanchez, Famas Prize for Best Documentary in 2019 in the Philippines and Dreaming in the Red Light by Pabelle Manikan (Philippines), selected in 2021 for “Les Etats Généraux du Film Documentaire (Lussas, France).” Founded in 2003, Dynamo Production, an independent French company, is dedicated to film production. Its main objectives are to defend an author policy through unique and innovative artistic projects. The subjects tackled are the fruit of a constant questioning of life in society, shared with emerging or confirmed authors.

Laura Kloeckner is a curator and film producer based in Berlin. She joined Seera Films as a producer in 2022. Laura previously worked for DOX BOX, where she produced her first feature documentary. Between 2016 and 2019 Laura worked for the Industry Department of DOK Leipzig and the Berlinale/EFM. Laura is a curator at the Berlin based art space SA V V Y Contemporary – The Laboratory of Form Ideas.