Having spent her years as the First Lady of the Philippines on a heady monopolistic rampage, buying up European jewellery shops and iconic New York skyscrapers, Imelda Marcos is looking for a way to regain control. Her former peers, including the widows of governmental figures, tell the story of a woman scarred by an emotional blow that transformed her into the bulletproof-bra-wearing megalomaniac, who now mythologises her mothering instincts. Female journalists and activists share their horrific experiences of torture under the martial law that the Marcoses initiated, as Imelda was busy displacing an entire island of people to have her own African zoo. This rare focus on the female experience in dictatorships explores the complexity of contemporary Philippine politics and the sinister future it faces.

*Please note that free Red Membership tickets are not available for the BFI's London Film Festival. 

Get your tickets for the 2019 BFI London Film Festival in partnership with American Express from 12 September at bfi.org.uk/lff or call 020 7928 3232 (10:00 – 20:30 daily).