COMING IN 2027

About The Film

Logline


A doctor that swore an oath to do no harm becomes convinced that violent measures are necessary to save a democracy.


Steak Guerrillas

For many people, democracy is something they inherit. For others, it is something they must fight to preserve.


Today, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. sits in the presidential palace his father once ruled by force. His family's return to power has accelerated a campaign to rehabilitate the Marcos era in public memory, minimizing atrocities, dismissing dissidents, and rewriting the history of 14 years under martial law.


The people who risked everything to oppose that dictatorship are being erased not by defeat, but by forgetting. 


Steak Guerrillas recovers one of those stories.


The film explores the hidden history of political resistance through the story of Dr. Arturo M. Taca, a Filipino surgeon who rebuilt his life in St. Louis after fleeing the Philippines during the dictatorship of Ferdinand Marcos.


While Taca became a respected physician in his adopted hometown, he was simultaneously engaged in a far more dangerous mission: helping lead a movement of exiles determined to restore democracy in their homeland.


Taca's activism was deeply personal. Before martial law, he was closely connected to opposition leader Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino Jr. who served as his Godfather, or principal sponsor at his wedding, and later became the most prominent face of the anti-Marcos movement. 


Their relationship would draw Taca into some of the most consequential events surrounding the struggle against the dictatorship and place him in direct proximity to history as it unfolded.


Through this connection, the film reveals how major political movements depend not only on famous leaders, but also on ordinary individuals working behind the scenes, often at great personal cost.

Synopsis

Following the death of Dr. Arturo M. Taca in 1997, his family discovered an unfinished memoir hidden among his personal papers.


To his children, Taca had been a physician, father, community leader, and outspoken political figure. What they found in that manuscript revealed a far more complicated story than any of them had fully understood during his lifetime.


Steak Guerrillas is a feature length documentary that draws on the memoir, family archives, interviews, government records, and animated recreations to reconstruct the extraordinary journey of a man who spent more than two decades fighting a dictatorship from halfway around the world — and what that fight cost the people who loved him.


Born and raised in Manila in a politically connected family, Taca’s Godfather was Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino Jr., the charismatic opposition senator who would become the central figure in the struggle against Ferdinand Marcos. 


Aquino served as principal sponsor at Taca's wedding and remained a vital presence as political conditions in the Philippines deteriorated.


After Marcos declared martial law, Taca was arrested and interrogated. Fearing for his life, he fled with his young family to the United States and settled in St. Louis, where he rebuilt his life as a surgeon.


What began as community organizing and political advocacy gradually evolved into a world of covert meetings, FBI surveillance, federal investigations, and deeply difficult ethical choices.


As the Movement for a Free Philippines grew more organized and more desperate, Taca found himself supporting efforts that went far beyond publishing underground newsletters and challenging Marcos' propaganda.


The film moves through two interconnected timelines.


The first follows Taca's journey from physician to exile to resistance leader, drawing on his memoir and archival evidence to reconstruct events that were never photographed and were, in many cases, deliberately kept hidden.


The second follows his adult children in the present as they attempt to understand the risks he took, the choices he made, and the impact those choices had on everyone around him — their mother, their sense of security, their own understanding of who their father was.


Central to the story is Taca's relationship with Aquino. The two men reconnect repeatedly through the years of resistance — in political strategy sessions, in private visits, in the shared understanding of exiles who know they may never go home.


Aquino's assassination at Manila International Airport in 1983 is both a pivot point in the democracy movement and a shattering personal loss to Taca and others who loved him.


The People Power Revolution represents a triumph, but not a resolution.


Taca's health deteriorates in the years that follow and he and his family are victims of repeated acts of violence. 


Part political thriller, part family excavation, part meditation on the price of conscience, Steak Guerrillas asks what it costs to dedicate a life to a cause larger than oneself — and whether that cost can ever be preserved in public memory, or whether each generation must rediscover it alone.


Themes

  • Sacrifice for Freedom: The immense personal costs borne by those fighting for democracy, even from afar.


  • Political Resistance in Exile: The untold resilience of individuals who, separated from their homeland, still worked tirelessly to bring down a dictatorship.


  • Family and Duty: Driven by love for his family and his people, Dr. Taca’s story is one of unwavering loyalty and duty, highlighting the close ties between personal and political life.


Inspiration


Inspired by Dr. Taca’s own memoirs entitled Steak Guerrillas, the documentary film offers an intimate look at his legacy as a freedom fighter. His story echoes the ongoing global struggle for justice, honoring the spirit of those who defied tyranny from across the Pacific.



Connection & Access

Our team has direct access to Dr. Taca’s family, who have granted permission to use personal archives, including photographs, home videos, and his riveting unpublished memoir "Steak Guerrillas".


This deep connection allows us to offer a uniquely intimate portrayal of Taca’s life and the impact of his activism.


We are also collaborating with historians and former members of the Movement for a Free Philippines to ensure historical accuracy and depth.






So What Are Steak Guerrillas?

From Derision to Defiance: Embracing the Steak Guerrillas  Moniker


The terms "steak guerrillas" and "steak commandos" were coined by Ferdinand Marcos to belittle expatriate opponents, especially those like Dr. Arturo M. Taca  who were leaders in the Movement for a Free Philippines (MFP), suggesting they waged a comfortable, distant battle against his regime. 


Dr. Taca chose to reclaim this term to title his personal memoir Steak Guerrillas, highlighting the diverse and dedicated individuals who, who despite their varied backgrounds, at great personal risk to themselves and their loved ones, united against dictatorship. 


Our film's title, "Steak Guerrillas," reflects this reclamation, showcasing the courage of one man who sacrificed and risked everything to fight for freedom.


Our Vision and Approach


The form of our film is inseparable from its subject: a story that exists partly in archives, partly in memory, and partly in the spaces between taking the audience into clandestine meetings that were never recorded, in private choices that were never photographed, in a memoir left unfinished.


At the center of the film is Dr. Taca's own voice. His unfinished manuscript becomes the film's narrative spine, providing an intimate first-person perspective on events that have never been told publicly. 


Rather than filtering his experience through historians or outside interpreters, the film allows Taca to speak for himself through the words he left behind, brought to life on screen through a method that sits at the heart of the film's most deliberate, and perhaps controversial, creative choice.


Because many key events occurred in private or clandestine spaces with no visual record, animation plays a central and structurally essential role. The film employs two distinct animation styles. 


For the memoir monologues, Taca speaking directly in first person, we use photorealistic animation built from archival photographs of Dr. Taca himself. Using a 3D avatar constructed from those images, synchronized to the live performance of acclaimed Filipino actor Joel Trinidad, the film creates an on-screen presence that is simultaneously archival and performed. 


The result is neither deception nor mere illustration: it is a deliberate act of creative transparency, one that asks audiences to hold both realities at once the man who existed and the memory, we are reconstructing.


As filmmakers, we are fully aware of the ethical weight of bringing a person who died nearly thirty years ago back to the screen in this way. That awareness has shaped our process from the beginning. 


The Taca family has been active collaborators throughout production, and it was the family, not the filmmakers, who advocated most strongly for this approach. They understood that the voice and performance would be Joel Trinidad's, and that what audiences would see is a character built from their father's archival image. For them, the method was not a compromise but an act of preservation.


For dramatic reenactments of historical events — the clandestine meetings, the exile organizing, the dangerous moments that never made it into any official record — the film uses stylized traditional animation to ensure that viewers know it isn't real. 


Our approach does not claim to recreate history with certainty. It seeks to visualize memory itself. It is partially seen, subjectively rendered, and morally complex.


We mix these recreations with contemporary interviews with family members ground the story in the present. Archival photographs, home movies, government documents, and news footage connect the personal story to the public record.


Together, these elements are woven together to create a layered cinematic texture in which the film's form reflects its argument: that history is always a reconstruction, that memory is always incomplete, and that the stories worth recovering are precisely the ones that resist easy telling.


We are transparent about  our methods, including its use of AI-assisted tools in the human-led workflow that produced the photorealistic animation, because the film's credibility depends on the audience understanding exactly what they are seeing and why.

Meet The Filmmakers


I was initially drawn to Dr. Taca's story because it challenged a comfortable assumption: that there is a clear line between healing and harm, between principled resistance and political violence, between the person we think we know and the choices they make when no one is watching.


Taca was a physician who had dedicated his life to healing and who came to support efforts involving weapons and political violence in the fight against a dictatorship. At first, I viewed this as a contradiction. The deeper I got into his story, the more I could see that from his his perspective, the logic was consistent. 


Physicians confront impossible choices every day. A doctor authorizes aggressive treatments because inaction would produce a worse outcome. Taca came to see the Marcos dictatorship as a disease threatening the political health of his country and concluded that increasingly aggressive interventions were necessary to stop it. 


He held that view with the same clarity and conviction he brought to medicine.


Whether audiences ultimately agree with his conclusions is not the point.


What compelled me was understanding how a thoughtful, principled, educated man arrived there and what it cost him and the people around him to follow that logic to its ends.


My hope is that our film will not only bring his story to light and preserve an important, overlooked chapter in history, but also spark meaningful dialogue about democracy, political responsibility, and the human cost of resistance. 


These issues feel inescapable right now and profoundly relevant to all audiences, whether in the Philippines, the United States or in any other democracy.    As democratic institutions face new pressures and political polarization deepens globally, the history of ordinary citizens who confronted authoritarian rule - their methods, their sacrifices, their moral complexity - is not a relic.  It is a mirror.  We just have to take the time to truly look.


-RON WATERMON, DIRECTOR

Joel Trinidad - Actor, Dr. Arturo M. Taca

A theater professional from the Philippines, Joel Trinidad has been granted Permanent Residency status in the US (aka a Green Card) based on his body of work. 


He has performed in over 75 plays and musicals, including the Asian Premieres of AVENUE Q and THE 25th ANNUAL PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BEE (Philippines and Singapore); SOMETHING TO CROW ABOUT (La MaMa Theater); and PROOF (opposite Tony and Olivier Award-winner Lea Salonga). 


On screen, he has acted alongside the likes of Bob Hoskins (in NORIEGA: GOD’S FAVORITE), Connie Nielsen (in THE GREAT RAID), Jeff Fahey (in CRASH POINT), and Christian Kane (in the Amazon series ALMOST PARADISE), among many others. 


A prolific writer as well as an actor, Joel has penned a dozen original librettos, all of which have been successfully produced, not just in his home country, but all over the world (and most of which he directed himself). These shows include BREAKUPS & BREAKDOWNS (music by Rony Fortich); AFTER EVER AFTER (story by Nicky Triviño, music by Jon Meer Vera Perez); GUADALUPE: THE MUSICAL (music by Ejay Yatco); and FAIRY TALE RESCUE (music by Reggie Tan and Onyl Torres), to name but a few. He’s also written more than a hundred short plays (many of which have been produced in NYC). His latest musical (created with composer Lucas Hal-Jones) is the two-person comedy A TALE OF TWO (based on A TALE OF TWO CITIES by Charles Dickens), which premiered in London in July 2024.


Liz Peterson - Producer

Liz Peterson is a dynamic documentary filmmaker and media professional based in St. Louis, Missouri who has led international production and operations with a global

perspective. 


While based in Vietnam, Liz managed all facets of business operations, partnerships, and marketing for the Best Ever Food Review Show, spearheading its expansion into one of the most successful and profitable food channels on YouTube.  


Under her strategic direction, the channel grew from a few hundred thousand followers to an audience of over 10 million, captivating viewers worldwide with immersive cultural and culinary experiences. Liz’s global production leadership took the show to diverse locations, highlighting local food and culture with authenticity and impact. 


Previously, she directed marketing and patient experience at The Eye Institute of West Florida, where her initiatives significantly enhanced patient engagement and satisfaction.  Her background also includes high-revenue sales and community relations with the St. Louis Cardinals. Liz’s dedication to storytelling, audience growth, and operational excellence make her a formidable force in documentary and digital media production.

Ron Watermon - Producer, Director & Writer

Ron Watermon is an Emmy-nominated screenwriter and TV producer. He is also an attorney, author, and the founder of STORYSMART® LLC, a story development film studio that focuses on true stories. 


With a background that spans Major League Baseball, politics, and media, Ron brings a unique storytelling acumen to film projects.  


Ron served as VP of Communications for the St. Louis Cardinals, where he produced Cardinals Insider with Ozzie Smith, a weekly television series that brought the team’s legacy to life, and he created the pioneering serialized shows #TheFrontOffice and #BirdToTheFuture on Instagram. 


Ron’s production expertise ensures his projects deliver both cinematic quality and narrative depth.  


Learn more @ storysmart.net and ronwatermon.com

Carl Reed - Animation Producer

Carl Reed has built a career producing award-winning content.  


As the founder of Composition Media, Carl's mission is to amplify underrepresented voices and redefine storytelling through groundbreaking, inspiring projects.


Prior to founding Composition Media, Carl co-founded Lion Forge Comics and Lion Forge Animation, serving as president and Chief Creative Officer.  Under his leadership, the company grew from fledgling startup into the largest black-owned publisher and animation studio. 


His collaborations with industry giants like Disney, HBO MAX, Nickelodeon, and Sony Pictures Animation have resulted in numerous accolades, including the Academy Award-winning short film "Hair Love" and the Emmy-winning “Sesame Street: The Power of We" animated special, among many others.

Paul Schankman - Editor & Story Producer

Paul Schankman has been a working broadcast journalist in Missouri and Illinois for more than 40 years. His assignments have taken him across the country, covering Ronald Reagan’s 1981 Presidential Inauguration, the 1999 Super Bowl, multiple national political conventions and a launch of the Space Shuttle Columbia. Paul was also dispatched immediately to cover the Oklahoma City bombing and reported live from Ground Zero for several days following the 9/11 attack on the World Trade Center in New York City.


Paul has been honored with 35 Mid-America Emmy Awards for his work with KTVI-TV (FOX), KETC-TV (PBS) and HEC Media. In 2016, he was inducted by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences into its Silver Circle; a recognition given to those deemed to have made significant contributions to broadcasting and media.


Paul is also a recipient of the coveted Edward R. Murrow Award from the Radio and Television News Directors Association, as well as honors and prizes from Dartmouth College, Lincoln University, and the International Radio and Television Festival. 


Paul’s work has also been recognized by the Greater St. Louis Association of Black Journalists, American Women in Radio and Television and The Associated Press.


Additionally, Paul was given the Southern Illinois University Alumni Achievement award and has been inducted into the Parkway Schools Hall of Fame. Paul left KTVI-TV in 2016 to launch Paul Schankman Productions, which specializes in producing news features and documentaries.


In 2019, his feature-length documentary, “A New Leaf; Reimagining Henry Shaw’s Museum” won best direction and best editing at the St. Louis Filmmakers Showcase. His

documentary, “House of Thunder,” was released in 2020.

Dave Rutherford - Cinematographer|DP

Dave is an accomplished cinematographer with more than three decades of experience in shooting films around the world.  


Dave has worked on dozens of feature films and documentaries, as well as working with all of the major television news agencies and media companies.


Dave is an entreprenuer who owns his own production company in St. Louis, often specializing in high-end steadicam photography and capturing cinematic drone footage for film and television productions. 




By supporting "Steak Guerrillas," you become part of a movement that honors Dr. Taca’s story and keeps alive the memory of those who fought for democracy in the Philippines. We are actively seeking funding and partnerships to complete this film, with goals to share it across film festivals, educational institutions, and community screenings for maximum impact.


Your tax deductible contribution through our Fiscal Sponsor St. Louis Filmworks will help bring this story of resilience and resistance to audiences worldwide, empowering future generations to continue the fight for freedom and justice.


I am grateful to the St. Louis Regional Arts Commission, Continuity, and the city of St. Louis for their belief in this project.


This grant is not just financial support—it’s the reason this film is being made.


After five years of working alongside the Taca family to tell this extraordinary true story, we’re now able to bring it to life.


Thanks to this investment in local storytelling, a story rooted in St. Louis will soon reach a global audience.”


— Ron Watermon, Director

While the St. Louis Film grant provides essential support,  we continue seeking private support from donors to meet the ambitious timeline required by the grant while creating a film worthy of this story and the city that shaped it. 


Your private, tax-deductible donation helps ensure we bring this important film to life with the quality, reach, and depth it deserves.

Make A Tax-Deductible Donation Via Our Fiscal Sponsor St. Louis Filmworks