After Quezon’s Game, Rachel stars in two more films
MANILA, Philippines — Since starring in the hit musical film, Ang Larawan, where she played the submissive sister Paula Marasigan, singer-actress Rachel Alejandro is enjoying what can be called a “second wind” in her acting career.
A few months after Ang Larawan was shown at the 2017 Metro Manila Film Festival, Rachel was offered to play Aurora Quezon in Quezon’s Game — the historical drama on Philippine Pres. Manuel L. Quezon’s heroic effort to save German and Austrian Jews from the Holocaust.
The inspiring film has gone to several international filmfests and gotten for Rachel and co-star Raymond Bagatsing (who plays Manuel Quezon) acting awards from the 2019 Cinema World Fest in Canada. The movie continues to screen worldwide as it just opened in the United Kingdom and Norway last Jan. 31.
To kick off the theatrical run in the UK, two special screenings were organized in London. The first was a gala held on Holocaust Memorial Day for the UK-based Campaign Against Antisemitism organization. The second was a Film In Concert premiere wherein a 30-piece orchestra performed the award-winning musical score live.
In attendance at both events were director Matthew Rosen, screenwriter Dean Rosen, Raymond and Rachel and their respective managers Arnold Vegafra and Girlie Rodis, as well as ABS-CBN executives led by Linggit Tan Marasigan.
Rachel shares that the audience at the Holocaust Memorial Day screening was very moved by the film. “Their comments were priceless. The most common reaction was ‘Why have we never heard of this piece of history before?’ Amazingly enough, the mostly Anglo-Jewish audience had very similar things to say about the film and how it made them feel; the feedback was similar to the response of the Pinoys who watched the movie during the commercial run in the Philippines. This goes to show that the message of Quezon’s Game is truly universal.”
Raymond says, “The audience seemed quite intrigued and fascinated with the story behind the film.” Many interesting questions were also raised during the Q&A. “But mostly, the people who watched just really wanted to thank the Rosen Family for telling the story,” adds Rachel.
Meanwhile, the Film In Concert held the day after featured Rachel and Shulem Lemmer, a New York-based Jewish recording artist. Shulem sang Hand Across the Water by London-based songwriter George Hargreaves with music arrangement by Chris Cameron, while Rachel sang the Tagalog version of the same song with translation written by Star Music’s Jonathan Manalo.
“The premiere and the film in concert was an incredible experience,” Rachel recalls happily. “It was my first time to hear a film’s score being played live by a 30-piece orchestra in a concert setting. It gave me goosebumps. I remember looking at Quezon’s Game scriptwriter and composer of the musical score, Dean Rosen, and saw him absolutely beaming as he heard his creation coming to life.”
When it was Rachel’s turn to sing the Tagalog theme song, she was actually a bit nervous. She reveals, “The Tagalog song was a recent addition to the program. There were some technical difficulties with playing the music track so I struggled to stay calm. I basically had to sing a cappella at some point...” None of that showed, as the singer-actress was a picture of coolness and in her elegant Francis Libiran gown.
Rachel has two more movies lined up. Coincidentally, music figures prominently in these forthcoming projects. Songs for Selina, directed by Dean Rosen, is about the recording industry, while Song of the Fireflies is about the Loboc Children’s Choir.
Of Songs for Selina, which Rachel has already wrapped up, she says, “My role is so different from anything I’ve ever done before. I play a sociopath. It scared me a little because I honestly don’t know — And I still don’t know! — if I could pull it off. (Writer-director) Dean Rosen put his faith in me, so even if I was intimidated, I jumped in. I did some research, applied techniques I picked up from an acting class I took in New York. In the end, I have to say that I was not unhappy with the result.”
For Song of the Fireflies, Rachel is both actress and producer. On-screen, she is going to play the role of Equet Butalid, the long-time patron of the Loboc Children’s Choir. Off-screen, she is in the thick of pre-production work with her Ang Larawan collaborators Girlie Rodis and Celeste Legaspi.
“It’s looking like I have two films coming out in succession this year alone. My series of film projects is completely unexpected after a 20-year hiatus from film,” says Rachel.
For Rachel, acting — like singing — is deeply ingrained into her psyche as an artist. “My movie and stage roles have definitely honed me. They have also been the most fun and fulfilling of my career.”
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