Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP) chairman and CEO Jose ‘Joey’ Javier Reyes admitted that he was ‘greatly disturbed’ after watching ‘Quezon,’ a film that was based on the life of former president Manuel L. Quezon.
The film has been making headlines after Quezon’s grandson Ricky Avanceña called out its director Jerrold Tarog and lead star Jericho Rosales for allegedly profiting from a ‘misinterpretation’ of the former president at a post-question-and-answer screening last week.
Amid the ongoing discussions about the film, Reyes took to his Facebook page on Friday, Oct. 24, to share that the film made him ‘greatly disturbed’ due to its portrayal of the former chief of state.
‘I have just watched QUEZON and I left the moviehouse greatly disturbed. This is because I wanted to find out: (1) In a biographical movie such as this, where does the FACT end and the FICTION begin?’ he said.
‘(2) Being the concluding episode of the BAYANIVERSE, what is the filmmaker trying to say about a trio of Filipino heroes?’ he continued.
The director also expressed his concern about filmgoers opting to go for CineSilip entries instead of the Tarog-helmed film in his post.
‘(3) Why are there more people watching the SINESILIP movies than an ambitious epic of historical note like QUEZON? I shall not sleep well tonight thinking about this,’ he said.
Reyes was referring to the inaugural CineSilip Film Festival, an initiative of Viva Films, running until Oct. 28, which features seven daring films by emerging filmmakers, including ‘Dreamboi,’ ‘Babae sa Butas,’ ‘Pagdaong,’ ‘Maria Azama,’ ‘Haplos sa Hangin,’ Ang Lihim ni Maria Makinang,’ and ‘Salikmata.’
Following the now-viral exchange with Tarrog and Rosales, Avanceña told the Inquirer that he is happy that his call-out ‘sparked a national debate’ when it comes to the portrayal of films revolving around historical figures.
‘In the process, I have sparked a national debate – one that is long overdue, but not dominated only by those who have the money to produce a movie for purely selfish and pecuniary interests,’ he said.
‘Quezon’ is the third and final film of Tarrog’s ‘Bayaniverse’ film series following ‘Heneral Luna’ and ‘Goyo.’