Philippine cinema is no stranger to bringing historical events to the silver screen. This time, the team behind TBA Studios is adapting the story of former President Manuel L. Quezon into a powerful historical narrative. On August 7, Quezon director Jerrold Tarog, cinematographer Pong Ignacio, and producer Daphne Chiu-Soon came together for Rolling Stone Philippines’ State of Affairs live event to discuss what it means to bring a historic epic to life.
Moderated by Jose Javier Reyes, Chairman and CEO of the Film Development Council of the Philippines, the panel shared their thoughts on the risks associated with making one of the most expensive films in the country’s history, as well as the place of historical dramas in the current market. Quezon, starring Jericho Rosales as the titular Philippine president. The film follows Quezon through four chapters in his life.
The discussion saw Reyes situating the big gamble in the film industry as a whole, which still has a hard time in getting audiences back to cinemas. Reyes frequently played devil’s advocate with the team, pointing out challenges that come with making a film based on a national hero. “Isn’t this masochistic on your part?” Reyes teased the panelists after describing how expensive and difficult it is to produce a movie like Quezon. “We were focused on showing the human side [of Quezon], to humanize ‘yong protagonist of the film,” said Chiu-Soon.
“You’re not only humanizing, you’re actually deconstructing Filipino history. Do you think the Philippine audience is ready for that?” Reyes asked, in the context of another forthcoming epic — Magellan, directed by Lav Diaz — that aims to humanize another Filipino historical figure. In response, Tarog shrugged and said, “I can always point to the books.” The director explained that, inspired by National Artist for Literature Nick Joaquin’s essay collection A Question of Heroes, he hoped to create a franchise of Filipino history-inspired movies similar to the blockbusters of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Reyes then pivoted to discussing the studio’s choice to release the film on October 15. “You’re showing this outside of the [Metro Manila Film Festival],” said Reyes, “and we know for a fact that it’s almost like a freak of nature, not unless you have an Alden [Richards] or Kathryn [Bernardo], to have big hits outside of the festival. Is this another exercise in masochism?” Chiu-Soon replied, saying, “If you open in MMFF, you’re sharing the theater with eight or 10 other entries with very limited screens. I don’t want to open with 20 screens: I want to [open with] 200 screens.”
The panel also touched on TBA Studios’ decision to cast Rosales as the film’s titular president. “How are you portraying Quezon with Jericho… is he going to be your delicious conyo boy?” Reyes asked jokingly.
“I never think about that,” Tarog said in response. “I was just focused on telling a good story. And Quezon’s controversies… it’s [all] right there in the chapters.”
“It’s a cultural thing, ‘yong tendency to hero worship,” the director continued. “Once you start doing that, everything is all black and white. A person becomes black and white in one sentence. But once you start reading up on history, it’s really a series of events where good people do good and bad things. Quezon is the perfect example of that. He’s a very complicated person, and also a problematic one.”
Quezon also stars Game of Thrones’ Iain Glen as Governor-General Leonard Wood, and Mon Confiado reprising his role as former president Emilio Aguinaldo. Quezon completes the studio’s Bayaniverse series, a cinematic franchise that highlights major figures in Philippine history.
Special thanks to ZYN. With special participation from H2V2 Catering and Manila Craft Mixes & Brews.
