The Longest March

In the middle of the infamous Bataan Death March during WWII, Corporal Sebastian Dicdican, a half Filipino soldier, meets with other soldiers who discuss the foods that they'll eat when they are rescued.

Sebastian dreams about a time after the war when the men show him the meals that they had talked about.

Sebastian wakes up from his daydream as the soldiers are marched off to an unknown fate.

  • Sean Dagiwa
    Director
  • Sean Dagiwa
    Writer
  • Emily Schumann
    Producer
  • Rebecca Rhodes
    Producer
  • Ryan Dombrowski
    Producer
  • Aris Kaikiu Lui
    Cinematographer
  • Project Type:
    Short
  • Genres:
    War, Drama
  • Runtime:
    9 minutes 15 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    December 17, 2024
  • Production Budget:
    8,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States, United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States, United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    Yes - DePaul University
Director Biography - Sean Dagiwa

Sean Dagiwa is an Indigenous Filipino screenwriter and director based out of Chicago, IL. A son of two Igorot parents, Sean is drawn to stories about under-represented and disenfranchised people.

He is a recent graduate from DePaul University with his MFA in screenwriting. While at DePaul, Sean also directed several short films, including a proof of concept short film based on his feature length thesis screenplay, both titled "The Longest March."

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Director Statement

The Bataan Death March is the biggest American military failure that you've never heard of. 75,000 American and Filipino POWs made the brutal 8 day March under 100 degree heat and the brutality of the Imperial Japanese Army. Of those initial 75,000 soldiers, only around 50,000 made it to the POW camp at Capas.

My grandfather was one of the unfortunate Filipino soldiers that survived the March but the experienced left him and a majority of his fellow soldiers hollow and voiceless.

His experience and the experience of countless other soldiers is my inspiration for writing my feature length script, The Longest March.

I wanted to create a proof-of-concept short film that encapsulated the tone of the feature. I decided that the midpoint scene between the main character and his fellow soldiers reminiscing about food captured the highs and lows that I worked diligently to include throughout the feature.

We worked hard to find Filipino-American actors who wanted to finally play parts that represented their peoples stories. When I am able to develop the short into a feature, I will do my best to fill the crew with filmmakers from under-represented communities in the industry.