Advisories & News
Press Release
Special Screening of Dancing Manilenyos, Sentro Rizal Toronto’s Offering in Celebration of Buwan ng Wikang Pambansa and in Honor of Frontline Workers
2020-08-22
PR 45-2020
19 August 2020, Toronto, Ontario – Sentro Rizal Toronto of the Philippine Consulate General, led by Consul General Orontes Castro, staged the first of its series of activities in celebration of Buwan ng Wikang Pambansa – the special screening of the film by Dr. Patrick Alcedo, Dancing Manilenyos. The premiere screening was held on 15 August 2020 at 8:00 pm, via the Consulate General’s official website and Facebook page, and will be shown until 19 August 2020, the Araw ng Wikang Pambansa. It will again be available for viewing for another week, from 30 August 2020 until 5 September 2020.
In his remarks, Consul General Castro emphasized that we should love our national language because it is a means by which people are united and understand one another. He also highlighted the sacrifices of all frontline workers during these unprecedented times of the COVID-19 pandemic, with the hope that people, especially the youth will take inspiration from them. He also thanked Dr. Alcedo for sharing his film with Sentro Rizal Toronto and hopes that the lessons learned from the film will inspire the viewers to continue supporting our kababayans and our country.
Dancing Manilenyos is a multi-awarded documentary film about the dreams of young Filipinos in Manila of making it big in the ballet world. It also talks about the hope and sacrifices of a ballet teacher, Luther Perez, who wishes to help lift his students, Victor Maguad among others, out of poverty, through the artistic and life skills that can be learned from dancing. The film also shows that students come together, help and respect one another, despite their disparate social class.
Ms. Sofia Zobel-Elizalde, Director of Steps Dance Studio, said in the documentary film that kids from all walks of life come to their dance studio, “but the moment they come in to the school, everybody equalizes. And when that happens…they learn from each other and there’s a respect that grows from one to the other.” Ms. Zobel-Elizalde also shared a wonderful statement, “Hard work is hard work. There is no division of where you come from and who you are. But it’s how you excel, your work ethic, your dedication, your natural talent and your passion” that applies not only to ballet but in anyone’s chosen career.
Ms. Margie Moran, President of Ballet Philippines, said on the other hand that, “Our dancers are either wealthy or they’re not. They look as dancing not as a hobby but as a career and they see a future no matter how much it pays them because they have passion. Even the rich ones… because they love what they do, it’s something that is part of their dream – to be a prima ballerina.”
The film received numerous awards and recognitions. Selected from among 347 submissions from 35 countries, it was an official selection at the 2019 Diversity in Cannes Short Film Showcase. It won an Impact Doc Award, a Spotlight Documentary Film Award, a Global Shorts Award of Merit, and an Award of Recognition from the Hollywood International Independent Documentary Film Award and was premiered at the famous Raleigh Studios in Hollywood, California. It was also an official selection at the Chelsea International Film Festival in Manhattan, New York, the Ethnografilm Festival in Paris, France, and the Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival in 2018.
Dr. Patrick Alcedo is an Associate Professor in the Department of Dance of the York University, the 3rd biggest university in Canada. He is the director, writer, and producer of six (6) documentary films, including Dancing Manilenyos. His other film A Piece of Paradise won both Centennial Best Canadian Film Award and the National Bank First Feature Film Award, the first film in the festival to have garnered a back-to-back win. He was also the Artistic Director of the Philippine Consulate General-Sentro Rizal Toronto’s dance production, INDAK, that was the highlight of the Philippine Independence Day and Filipino Heritage Month celebrations in June 2018.
In his remarks, Dr. Alcedo thanked the people and institution that made the film possible – the collaborative labor of love of people who shared their time, effort and pieces of their lives, and the grant from the Early Researcher Award of the Government of Ontario which he won. He also mentioned that he is honoured for Dancing Manilenyos forming part of the Philippine Consulate General’s Sentro Rizal Toronto’s celebration of Buwan ng Wikang Pambansa.
To date, the screening of Dancing Manilenyos has already 3,800 views, 1,852 engagements, 113 likes, 9 comments and 46 shares. It has reached 7,100 people through sharing of the video and the announcement, so it is expected that there will be more views until its screening in the first week of September. – END
