MANILA, Philippines?Ours is no country for journalists, activists or other critical-minded individuals.

That?s what Kapuso actress Iza Calzado discovered while making her latest independent drama, Joel Lamangan?s ?Dukot (Desaparecidos).?

She described the movie as ?timely, relevant, disturbing.?

She told Inquirer Entertainment: ?Statistics show more incidents of media killings in the last couple of years than during martial law. It?s alarming.?

The recent Maguindanao massacre underscores the gravity of the situation, Iza said. In most cases, like those tackled in ?Dukot,? the actress noted, bodies of the abducted were never recovered; their families have not been given closure. ?During the story conference, I saw pictures of some of the missing and the dead,? she said. ?I couldn?t help crying.?

Apathetic

She hopes the movie will lend a face to the ?numbers and words? in the reports of human rights advocates.

?I grew up apathetic and apolitical. I was never an activist. But I found the script (by Bonifacio Ilagan) touching,? Iza said.

While shooting, she often asked for the director?s input. ?I couldn?t have done it on my own. Direk Joel was an activist and political detainee.?

Iza has started expressing ?political? insights via Twitter. ?I really learned a lot, doing the movie. It opened my eyes to what?s happening in our country now.?

Calzado is happy and proud that ?Dukot? was screened at the Montreal World Film Festival and was graded ?A? by the Cinema Evaluation Board.

?I heard it was received well by foreign audiences,? she said of the film, which opened in local cinemas yesterday.

Next stop

Next stop for her is ?Ang Panday,? an entry in the Metro Manila Film Fest.

?Direk Mac Alejandre took care of our stunts during the shoot and Rico Gutierrez, who?s in charge of post-production, made sure the special effects are first-rate,? Iza reported.

She?s also part of the ensemble cast of ?Working Girls 2010,? an updated version of the Ishmael Bernal classic, to be directed by Jose Javier Reyes for Viva and Unitel.

She?s juggling two shows for GMA 7? ?Kaya Kong Abutin ang Langit? and ?Starstruck.?

In the works are two new programs for QTV. ?One is a cooking show. I?m really a foodie,? she said.

Which is just perfect, because boyfriend Atticus King is a restaurateur. She supported King in launching his resto, NYPD, in Quezon City recently. ?He?s a great guy. I like it that he thinks differently from other show biz guys. He?s a businessman-rocker.?

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