Conceptualization and development Tumandok was directed by
Iloilo-based Richard Jeroui Salvadico and Arlie Sweet Sumagaysay under Southern Lantern Studios. The Cinemalaya Foundation and the
Film Development Council of the Philippines funded the project while Terminal Six Post, sponsored the post-production. Arden Rod Condez and Sumagaysay did the screenplay. Pabelle Manikan was the cinematographer and editor; Lynn Belle Salvadico was the production designer. The sound was did by Lamberto Casas Jr. and Alexis Tomboc. The original music score was by Paulo Almaden along with the Ati people of Kabarangkalan.
Tumandok marked as a directorial debut for Salvadico and Sumagaysay who are also a married couple. The duo had made frequent visits to Ati community in Barotac Viejo and made advoacy videos for them. They obtained information from Kabarangkalan members Ronnie and Ronemae Elosando, the latter being a former Ati chieftain. Elosando relayed to the directors their community's experience of being forcibly displaced from their land back in 2007 and the community's effort to secure a CADT for their ancestral land since then. The film also received support from the
National Institute of Indigenous Peoples. The film which is a
docufiction set in the sitio narrates the struggles of the Ati people for their ancestral lands and the issue of
corruption. The community itself is involved in the scriptwriting with lead actress Jenaica Sangher serving as interpreter between the production team and her fellow Ati. The production team settled in Sitio Kabarangkalan two months prior to the
principal photography to establish the trust of the Ati community who are wary of lowlanders. The filming process took only seven days. Five of which were spent in Sitio Kabarangkalan The whole film was 88 minutes long. ==Release==