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On March 26, local and international audiences will get to stream Birdshot on Netflix, making it the platform’s first-ever Filipino film. Shortly after, on April 9, Netflix will release their first-ever Filipino series: Amo, by Brillante Mendoza.

The 13-episode mini-series was originally slated to premiere on TV5 last August. But thanks to a partnership between the network and Netflix, it’s been given a new home and a wider audience.

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Amo is directed by Brillante Mendoza, and is set against the backdrop of President Rodrigo Duterte’s controversial war on drugs. It tells the story of Joseph (played by indie film actor Vince Rillon), a high school student who starts out as a small-time shabu peddler, but eventually becomes embroiled in the violent world of drug lords, crooked cops, and corrupt government officials.

Considering previous instances in which Mendoza has expressed support for President Duterte and his drug war, it will be interesting to see how Amo paints our country’s current situation, and how it handles its themes. It will also be interesting to see Derek Ramsay playing a cop in uniform, instead of a plainclothes detective chasing perps through baskets of tomatoes.

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IMAGE TV5

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Amo is just one of the 39 new original movies that will arrive on the platform in April, leading up to its questionable goal of releasing as many as 700 originals in 2018. But if that volume of content also means that we can release more Filipino films and shows to a wide international audience, it can’t be all that bad.

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Catch Amo when it becomes available worldwide through Netflix on April 9.