“Flying Embers and a Fortress” sketches a map of a road painfully traveled by a family’s ongoing journey for truth. Director J.L. Burgos assembles and organizes new and archival footage that exposes their experiences in their search of his brother, Jonas, who has been missing since 2007.

For a film whose title speaks of stark contradictions, the film unfolds more like a flow between contexts. “Flying Embers and a Fortress” is a personal tale. It’s about Edita, now more than 80 years old, still searching for her missing son. Her search leads her to be with other mothers whose children are also missing, bridging her personal search into political organizing. It is about Jonas, a beloved husband and father equally loved.

2025 Filipino Academy of Movie Arts and Sciences Awards

Winner Best Picture
Best Director Special Jury Prize
2025 Gawad Urian Awards
Best Picture (winner)
Best Documentary (winner)
Best Editing (winner)
Best Director (nominee)
Best Production Design (nominee)
Best Cinematography (nominee 
20th Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival (2024)
Special Jury Prize