“Theory of Light” private screening by PropertyGuru underscores role of grassroots solutions

Bangkok, Thailand – 12 December 2022

PropertyGuru, Southeast Asia’s largest proptech company, hosted two private screenings of Liter of Light’s documentary, “Theory of Light” on 11 December 2022 at Cinema Oasis in Bangkok, Thailand.

The private screening was received positively by the exclusive guest list. Among them are former US Ambassador to the ADB Curtis S. Chin, delegates from the Philippine Embassy in Thailand, representatives from UNESCO Bangkok, and Chulalongkorn University.

Liter of Light is PropertyGuru’s Official Charity Partner at this year’s PropertyGuru Asia Real Estate Summit, which focuses on adaptive reinvention, sustainability, diversity, and innovation. The organisation’s founder, Illac Diaz, delivered a keynote speech at the Summit on Dec 8, where he first appeared as the recipient of the Visionary of the Year award in 2020.

“Theory of Light”, premiered at EXPO2020 in Dubai. The film underscores the seriousness of the climate crisis and the opportunity to take dramatic action through grassroots solutions that are leading the way in building resilient communities.

The Philippines’ geography is one of the main factors for its being most at risk from the effects of the climate crisis. The intensity of these storms increasing exponentially in recent years makes the Philippines among the countries that are most vulnerable to climate change. Many youth are nervous about the future, with significant economic losses due to natural disasters, and thousands of lives already lost due to the effects of climate change. 

Against this backdrop, “Theory of Light” chronicles how Liter of Light has reinvigorated efforts to build resilient communities that respond to the increasingly severe effects of climate change, and also come up with new solutions to meet local needs. Through interviews with top climate change experts from the Philippines and global institutions like United Nations Global Climate Action, the film contrasts the stark reality of living in natural disaster-prone areas with inspiring stories of hope from indigenous and rural agricultural communities, and representatives from the 32 countries that have been empowered by this initiative around the world. The film also relates to the organisation’s transformation during the COVID19 pandemic, enlisting youth, corporate partners, and government officials in building hand-built solar lights from home for its “Light It Forward” challenge, which received accolades from the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.

The feature-length film is produced and distributed by TBA Studios (https://www.tba.ph/film-catalogue/), the two-time Philippine representative to the Academy Awards. Development of “Theory of Light” was supported by a grant from SM Prime Holdings, Inc, one of the leading integrated property developers in Southeast Asia.  Sustainability and Disaster Risk Reduction and Resilience form part of SM Prime’s core business strategies, committed to its role as a catalyst for economic growth, delivering innovative and sustainable lifestyle cities. The film also received support from the EXPOLive Impact Innovation Grant Programme. In 2018, Liter of Light was selected as one of the Global Innovators under Expo Live, Expo 2020’s global innovation and partnership programme, and received funding for its grassroots work in the Philippines. The results of the Expo Live funded projects were recorded in the documentary.

Filmmaker J.P. Gopez, whose works include documentaries for National Geographic and TBA Studios’ legacy docu-series “Habambuhay: Remembering 100 Years of Philippine Cinema”, helmed the project. It is also executive produced by Liter of Light founder Illac Diaz, SM Prime President Hans Sy, TBA Studios CEOs E.A. Rocha and Fernando Ortigas with TBA’s Executive Vice-President and General Manager Daphne Chiu and Film Development Manager Margie Navarro co-producing.

About Liter of Light:

Working in 32 countries with over 2,700 youth ambassadors, Liter of Light is one of the largest organizations that works with youth to engage companies in Europe, Latin America, Southeast Asia, and Africa on building simple and repairable solar lights, mobile charging systems, and street lights. Using materials from within each community, the organization has empowered the lives of over one million people a year, while creating opportunities for green micro business, and lowering carbon emissions by 1000kg per hand-built solar lamp.