The Kingmaker is a 2019 documentary film written and directed by Lauren Greenfield, featuring the political career of Imelda Marcos with a focus on the Marcos family's efforts to rehabilitate the family's image and to return to political power, including her plans to see her son Bongbong become President of the Philippines, and the alliance that Bongbong and Imee Marcos established with Rodrigo Duterte in his bid to win the 2016 Philippine presidential election.
It debuted internationally in August 2019 at the 76th Venice Film Festival, and debuted in the Philippines on January 29, 2020.
The Kingmaker was nominated as best documentary at the London Film Festival and the Stockholm Film Festival, and for the Checkpoints Award at the Bergen International Film Festival. It was nominated for four categories in the 2019 Critic’s Choice Documentary Awards, eventually winning the award for Most Compelling Living Subject of a Documentary. It also received the Audience Award for Best Documentary Film at the Warsaw International Film Festival 2019.
The film has a 97% Certified Fresh rating from Rotten Tomatoes and a 76/100 from Metacritic.
Featured subjects[]
- Imelda Marcos (former First Lady of the Philippines)
- Bongbong Marcos (2016 vice presidential candidate and Imelda's son)
- Benigno Aquino III (former President of the Philippines)
- Leni Robredo (Vice President of the Philippines who defeated Marcos in the 2016 vice presidential elections)
- Andres D. Bautista (former Presidential Commission on Good Government head)
- Etta Rosales (former Commission on Human Rights chair and Martial Law torture survivor)
- Pete Lacaba (journalist, screenwriter and Martial Law torture survivor)
International release[]
| Country | Network(s) | Date(s) | Local title |
|---|---|---|---|
| United States | Showtime | February 28, 2020 | The Kingmaker |
| Australia | Stan | March 1, 2020 | |
| Belgium | Canvas | November 22, 2020 | |
| Canada | Crave | July 4, 2020 | |
| Netherlands | NPO 2 (VPRO) | November 24, 2020 | |
| Norway | NRK2 | June 29, 2020 | |
| NRK1 | August 19, 2021 | ||
| Philippines | iWant | August 1, 2020 | |
| United Kingdom | Sky Documentaries, Now TV | August 8, 2020 | |
| Denmark | DR2, DR TV | July 5, 2020 | Imelda – den stenrige førstedame |
| Finland | Yle Teema & Fem, Yle Areena | March 28, 2020 | Imelda Marcos, kuninkaantekijä |
| Germany | NDR Fernsehen, Radio Bremen TV | April 28, 2021 | Königsmacherin |
| SWR Fernsehen | November 19, 2021 | ||
| Poland | Canal+ Premium, Canal+ 1 | August 3, 2020 | Ważniejsza od królów |
| Canal+ Dokument | August 8, 2020 | ||
| Canal+ Family | August 31, 2020 | ||
| TVP Dokument | October 10, 2021 | ||
| TVP2 | November 18, 2021 | ||
| TVP1 | April 6, 2022 | ||
| TVP Historia | June 9, 2022 | ||
| Spain | Movistar CineDoc&Roll | June 7, 2020 | Imelda Marcos. Poder en la sombra |
| La 2, RTVE Play | August 9, 2021 | ||
| Sweden | SVT Play | August 17, 2020 | Kungamakerskan |