Malvar (film)

Malvar is an upcoming Filipino biographical war film directed by Jose "Kaka" Balagtas and written by Ed Samson. It will depict the life of Miguel Malvar, one of the last Filipino generals to surrender in the Philippine–American War.[2] The film will star Manny Pacquiao as the titular General Malvar, with Isko Moreno as Andrés Bonifacio and E.R. Ejercito as Emilio Aguinaldo.[2]

Malvar
Directed byJose "Kaka" Balagtas
Produced by
  • Jose Malvar Villegas Jr.
  • Florita Santos
Written byEd Samson
Starring
Production
company
JMV Film Productions
CountryPhilippines
LanguageFilipino
Budget₱100 million[1]

Producer Jose Malvar Villegas Jr. began plans for a film about General Malvar in 2000, though it was stalled due to apprehension that the American government, a close ally of the Philippines, could be offended with the work. After Rodrigo Duterte became the Philippine President in 2016 and favored a more independent foreign policy for the country, Villegas was encouraged to proceed with his plans, with Pacquiao cast as Malvar by mid-2019. Though shooting was intended to take place in Batangas, the eruption of Taal Volcano in the province forced the production to move to Bulacan.

As plans for a Malvar film production became more public in late 2019, controversy arose over the production's lack of sought permission from Malvar's descendants, while the casting of Pacquiao as Malvar has been criticized.[3] The film is intended to be submitted as an entry of the 46th Metro Manila Film Festival for a December 25, 2020 release date.

Cast

The full cast was presented at the Great Eastern Hotel's Aberdeen Court in Quezon City on December 22, 2019, with Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo in attendance.[10][8]

Production

Development

Producer Jose Malvar Villegas Jr.'s plans for a biographical film about General Miguel Malvar began in 2000, which at the time was stalled for an extended period due to the risk of offending the American government. However, after Rodrigo Duterte became president and advocated for a more independent foreign policy, Villegas was encouraged to proceed with his plans and committed to depicting in the film the atrocities committed during American colonization of the Philippine islands.[11]

Filming

Malvar was directed by Jose "Kaka" Balagtas and the provincial government of Batangas had involvement in its production.[12] According to Balagtas, filming locations for Malvar will include the Padre Pio Shrine in Santo Tomas, Batangas and the Bay Laguna, a 40 hectares (99 acres) development were the Malvar Ecumenical and Film World Center will be built.[13] Filming for the trailer began on October 18, 2019.[14]

Villegas Jr., the head of JMV Film Production who reportedly is also a grandson of Malvar, serves as the producer of the film. Director Balagtas also doubles as the event producer. Imelda Papin, a singer and songwriter is Malvar's line producer with Florita Santos also involved as a co-producer.[15]

According to Michael Balaguer of the online news site Diaryong Tagalog, shooting locations will be moved from Batangas to the municipalities of Plaridel and Pandi in Bulacan due to the January 2020 eruption of Taal Volcano.[16] Production was hampered once again by March, this time due to the coronavirus pandemic which has led to a lockdown of the entire Luzon area on March 17.[17][18]

The film is intended to be submitted to the 46th edition (2020) of the Metro Manila Film Festival, in addition to other international film festivals.[10]

Controversy

The production of Malvar has received controversy for the lack of sought permission from any of the descendants of Miguel Malvar other than producer Jose Malvar Villegas Jr. and his historian brother Edberto. Gabriel Malvar, the great grandson of Miguel Malvar, questioned the casting choice for the titular general of the film saying that his grandfather have his name "associated with anyone in politics" since Pacquiao is also a incumbent senator and also noted how Pacquiao's personality will "dominate" the film which he believed would detract the audience's attention from his grandfather's life to Pacquiao.[15][2]

References
  1. Samio, Veronica (25 September 2019). "Pacman gagastusan ng P100-m ang gagawing pelikula" [Pacman will spend P100-m in making a film]. Pilipino Star Ngayon (in Filipino and English). Philstar Global Corp. Retrieved 2 November 2019.
  2. Chua, Michael Charleston (26 October 2019). "A historian's perspective: Gen. Malvar could have been the Pacquiao of his day, but..." ABS-CBN News. ABS-CBN Corporation. Retrieved 1 November 2019.
  3. Madarang, Catalina Ricci (October 14, 2019). "Kin of Filipino hero General Malvar apprehensive about Pacquiao's portrayal". Interaksyon. Retrieved 6 March 2020.
  4. Macaraig, Mark Jonathan (28 August 2019). "People's champ Manny Pacquiao, "adopted son" ng Lalawigan ng Batangas". Province of Batangas (in Filipino and English). Province of Batangas. Retrieved 2 November 2019.
  5. Samio, Veronica (22 October 2019). "Mayor Isko tuloy na sa pelikula ni Sen. Manny!" [Mayor Isko to push through (his involvement) in Sen. Manny's film!]. Pilipino Star Ngayon. Philstar Global Corp. Retrieved 2 November 2019.
  6. Bistado.Net (October 2019). "TF ni Mayor Isko sa 'Heneral Malvar". Bistado News Online (in Tagalog and English). Bistado Illustrator. Retrieved 2 November 2019.
  7. Severo, Jan Milo (29 October 2019). "'Fake news': TBA on John Arcilla playing 'Heneral Luna' in Manny Pacquiao's 'Malvar' film". Philstar.com. Philstar Global Corp. Retrieved 2 November 2019.
  8. TDT (28 December 2019). "On atrocities and heroism". The Daily Tribune. Concept & Information Group, Inc. Retrieved 31 December 2019.
  9. Ejercito, ER (5 January 2020). "GENERAL MIGUEL MALVAR FILM PRESSCON..." Facebook. Retrieved 13 January 2020.
  10. Manila Standard Showbiz (19 November 2019). "'Malvar' intended for MMFF 2020, international fest". ManilaStandard.net. Retrieved 19 November 2019.
  11. Manila Standard Showbiz (8 January 2020). "Camera to start rolling for 'Malvar'". Manila Standard Mobile. manilastandard.net. Retrieved 13 January 2020.
  12. Chua, Zsarlene (15 October 2019). "Gen. Malvar's great-grandson opposes upcoming film". BusinessWorld. BusinessWorld Publishing. Retrieved 2 November 2019.
  13. Asis, Salve (25 September 2019). "Pacquiao gaganap na Bayani!" [Pacquiao will portray a Hero!]. Pang-Masa (in Filipino). Philstar Global Corp. Retrieved 2 November 2019.
  14. "First day of shoot GENERAL MALVAR". Facebook. SWORD TV Philippines Broadcasting. 18 October 2019. Retrieved 2 November 2019.
  15. Gregorio, Xave (13 October 2019). "New Malvar biopic didn't get entire family's permission, kin says". CNN Philippines. Nine Media Corporation. Retrieved 2 November 2019.
  16. Balaguer, Michael (February 25, 2020). "Syuting ng Pelikulang Gen. Malvar Ililipat sa Bulacan" [Shooting of Gen. Malvar Film to be Moved to Bulacan]. Diaryong Tagalog (in Tagalog). Diaryong Tagalog Networks Limited. Retrieved March 6, 2020. Nakatakdang mag[-]shoot ang Gen. Malvar Movie sa mga bayan ng Plaridel at [P]andi at iba pang makasaysayang lugar sa Bulacan...
  17. Rula, Gorgy (March 18, 2020). "Mayor Sara naghahanda na para sa kanyang filmbio?!" [Mayor Sara is now preparing for her filmbio?!]. Pilipino Star Ngayon (in Filipino). Philstar Global Corp. Retrieved March 24, 2020. Bukod dito, nandiyan pa rin ang iba pang pagpu-produce ng biopic kagaya ng Malvar na pagbibidahan ni Sen. Manny Pacquiao na tigil-shooting din.
  18. Rappler.com (March 18, 2020). "Disney postpones 'Black Widow' Philippine release". Rappler. Manila, Philippines: Rappler, Inc. Retrieved March 24, 2020.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.