Film on Jews’ escape to PH in the works

Film Development Council of the Philippines chair Briccio G. Santos: Putting the nation’s history in a proper light. photo by RICHARD REYES

MANILA, Philippines–The story of the “Manilaners” will be told on film following the signing of an agreement with producers to tell the tale of Jewish refugees who fled the Nazis during World War II to find refuge in the Philippines under the leadership of President Manuel L. Quezon.

The Jewish people faced great discrimination in many nations then, making it extremely difficult to obtain refugee status anywhere. A global conference on the situation—all of 32 nations—resulted in the admission into their borders of only a limited number of Jews.

But the Philippines, led by Quezon, still not quite independent of America, opened its doors to the people of the Jewish faith.

Along with his Jewish friends and prominent Filipino businessmen, and with American High Commissioner to the Philippines Paul McNutt, Quezon facilitated the immediate entry of thousands of Jews to the country and gave them areas to settle in.

The tense negotiations, arrangements and conflicts behind the drama of the Jews’ arrival will be narrated in the movie. Their journey from Europe, across the Soviet Union and China, then on to Hong Kong and finally the Philippines will be retold.

Film Development Council of the Philippines chair Briccio G. Santos said the film was a way of putting the nation’s history in a proper light. “Even at the threshold of nationhood, we performed like a true nation, with a sovereign sense of duty and compassion,” he said.

The international producers are Global Motion Pictures Ltd., Cinema Veritas and Musashino Kogyo Co. Ltd. represented by Mike Sano, Scott Rosenfelt and Yoshikatsu Kono, respectively.