MANILA, Philippines - One of the Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF) entries this year is El Presidente: The Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo Story of Scenema Concepts Int’l released through Viva Films starring Laguna Gov. ER “Jeorge Estregan†Ejercito playing the role of the controversial figure Gen. Aguinaldo.
Joining him in the cast are Christopher de Leon as Gen. Antonio Luna, Cesar Montano as Andres Bonifacio, Cristine Reyes as his first wife and Superstar Nora Aunor playing his second wife. The movie runs for two hours and 45 minutes under the helm of director Mark Meily. This is the only movie on Dolby Digital Sound and Technicolor (pastel) made in Thailand. The film has two theme songs — El Presidente as composed and performed by apl.de.ap of Black Eyed Peas with heavy metal band Slapshock and Aking Inang Bayan sang by Pagsanjan Mayor Maita Ejercito.
El Presidente: The Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo Story is very rich in research materials. This is why the running time is more than two hours. The whole production believes in the truthfulness of the story. The producers cannot afford to compromise with the usual two-hour run.
The film has earned the endorsement of the Department of Education and the Commission on Higher Education. “You shouldn’t miss this film. Dito natin matutunghayan ang mga bagay-bagay sa history books natin — why these things happened and so on and so forth. We will show in the film some of the most important events in Philippine history during Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo’s time,†said ER. “If they loved our movie Manila Kingpin: The Asiong Salonga last year, this is 10 times better and bigger. It’s truly awesome. It’s for you to see and judge,†he added.
Why shouldn’t we miss El Presidente: The Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo Story? It’s in our history books that Gen. Aguinaldo is responsible for the first Philippine Republic, the first Philippine Constitution, the Philippine Flag and the National Anthem. He was the first president of the democratic republic in Asia. In the movie, among the pivotal events tackled are the Tejeros Convention (the first national elections), the Pact of Biak Na Bato, the Treaty of Paris, the summary execution of Bonifacio, the summary execution of Gen. Luna, among others.
“We are not changing history but we would like to make history in filmmaking. Because of the high standards of the movie-going public, we are offering a decent and entertaining film for all of them. We would like to be remembered as producers of a great film. I am just so proud to be a Filipino after watching our movie,†said ER.
El Presidente will hit Philippine theaters beginning Christmas Day, Dec. 25.