During 90 minutes, filmed partially
in Manila and Baler (45 minutes take place in Filipino
soil), and the rest in very distant and distinct locations
throughout all of Spain, the script follows the path,
and reconstructs the personal lives of the very last
33 soldiers of a fallen empire. A reflection of the
trascendental legacy, and the paradox within Baler,
call for a current view and message of today´s
world events.
“The empathy of your enemy can even save your
life, as in Baler did mine”, state the Spanish
descendants in the current days. The movie also enjoys
the present natural beauty, and historical significance
and symbolism in East-West relations, of the town and
people of Baler, with interviews of reknown Filipinos,
as well as street scenes and popular comments on Fil-Hispanic
celebrations, and reactions from Baler’s sister
towns, like Murcia, Almonte (Huelva), Miajadas (Cáceres)
or Puebla de Don Fadrique (Granada).
All these recall the values of the unknown soldiers
in past wars, and wish for renewed, peaceful intercultural
relations in today’s turbulent world. This message
is also stressed by testimonies of a 3rd continent,
America, in the past like US Ltd. Frederick Funston’s,
who in 1910 recommended everyone in the US Army to read
about Baler, as “those who are not moved to do
great things by this modest story must surely have the
heart of a hare,” and in the present time.
Presented in DVD and cinema (35 milimeters) formats,
the movie is now projected in 3 versions with subtitles:
Spanish, Tagalog and English, with 3D reconstructions
inside Bishop Parish Church of Baler, and an original
version of the popular song Yo te diré (I´ll
tell you, from the Spanish classical 1945 film Los últimos
de Filipinas).
A significant amount of ground work (interviews and
trips to several of the last 33 soldiers’ towns
throughout Spain) has already been carried out for the
TV documentary, recently broadcasted in Spanish National
TV Newtwork, under the title of
Los Hijos de Baler [The sons of Baler], in Línea
900 primetime show (La 2 de TVE), signed by Jesús
Valbuena [script writer] and Roberto Monseco [TV producer].
The success of this work has served as the basis for
the international movie project initiative.
Jesús Valbuena (Musas Producciones
Ltd) is responsible of the script, project funding,
and comunicacions tasks. He is currently the Business
Development Manager of Accesogroup,
a firm specialized in media analysis, and media relations
tools. He is also a board member of the
Internet Users Association, and a columist in business
magazines. He is a also a funding partner of Musas Producciones,
abeIT Consultores Ltd, and Periodista
Latino Ltd.
Besides interviews with numerous Spanish desdendants
of Baler, active on camera participation of respected
writer Manuel Leguineche, and award winning actor Tony
Leblanc [whose career began in the famous 1945 movie]
has also been already recorded.
What happened in Baler? What’s
the Filipino perspective, reconstruction and current
interpretations of the story? Who were those 33 annonymous
youngsters abandonned to fate? How could they survive
a siege of 337 days? What values allow for common grounds?
What´s the universal side of Baler?
As the cinema-verité, news documentary project
requieres present-day real footage and action sequences,
current effors are aimed at filming Fil-Spanish Friendship
initiatives during the 1st semester of 2005 in Viduerna
de la Peña (Palencia), Castillo de Locubín
(Jaén), Mula/Cieza (Murcia), and Madrid (Minister
of Defense). |
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The
core idea of the project is based on the spirit of frienship
during hardship. The script approaches universal History,
and the esentially positive aspects of human condition,
in a popular, easy-to-follow yet profound format. The
story of the siege of Baler, the past and present shared
memories of the East and the West, and the oral testimonies
of today’s Filipino and Spanish descendants of
Baler constitute the basis of this road documentary
and interior trip, traveling from Viduerna (in northern
Spain) to Baler (Aurora, Luzon), from the old musical
photograghs of the 1890s, and historical audiovisual
content, throughout the present days and future wills
of a narrator in a personal, implicated tone.
Listen to "Yo te diré"
song by Anabel Izquierdo and Pablo Sexmilo
Watch news coverage
at TVE
(Spanish version)
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