Captive premiere at SM City Pampanga

MANILA, Philippines – Director Brillante Mendoza held the Philippine premiere of his film Captive last Sept. 2 at the SM City Pampanga, after its debut at the 62nd Berlin Film Festival last February. The film is now showing in theaters nationwide.

The event was a milestone for the province of Pampanga, hometown of Mendoza. It was the first time for Pampanga to host a premiere of an international film. And while it did not have the glitz and the usual party crowd that frequents gala premieres, the event had that sense of home as Kapampangans from all walks of life packed the mall to welcome Mendoza who has brought them honors.

Mendoza and Captive stars Angel Aquino, Maria Isabel Lopez, Sid Lucero and Ronnie Lazaro graced the event. In the brief program hosted by Kapampangan broadcaster Perry Pangan at the Mall Atrium, Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP) executive director Ted Granados highlighted Mendoza’s contribution to the local film industry.

A French-Philippine co-production, Captive is adapted from the Dos Palmas kidnapping of two US missionaries by the Abu Sayaf Group (ASG) in 2001. It is a film about self-preservation, about survival in the face of hardships and situations beyond one’s control.

Captive has an international cast with acclaimed actress Isabelle Huppert playing Therese Burgoine, a French national and a volunteer social worker for a non-government organization based in Palawan. While her character is fictional, it is through her eyes that we get a unique glimpse of the ASG and the kidnapping.

The event was a fitting homecoming for a son that has made his province proud. Mendoza’s roots are in San Fernando, where he finished his elementary and high school education.

His first film, Masahista, was shot in San Fernando and starred Kapampangan actors Jaclyn Jose and Coco Martin. Another internationally acclaimed film, Kaleldo, was shot in Guagua. The Center of Kapampangan Studies co-produced Manoro, which graced five international film festivals.

As the first Filipino to win the Best Director Award at the Cannes filmfest, Mendoza remains closer than ever to his home province. He has been honored with the Outstanding Fernandino and Most Outstanding Kapampangan Awards in 2008 and the Juan Nepomuceno Cultural Award in 2012. He was the first honoree in the My City, My SM campaign when it was launched in SM City Pampanga in December, 2009.