If you missed the historical biographical film “Gomburza”’s 2023 Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF) run, here’s your chance to catch it—for free!
The National Commission on Culture and the Arts is screening the Pepe Diokno-directed film this Feb. 17 at the Metropolitan Theater as part of its Kasaysayan sa Met series. The free film showing also coincides with the 152nd anniversary of the execution of Filipino Catholic priests Mariano Gómez, José Burgos, and Jacinto Zamora, who were charged with subversion by the Spanish government concerning the 1872 Cavite mutiny.
Here’s a catch though: Since it’s free admission, there will only be limited slots that will be opened online. A registration link will be live on Feb. 14, 9 a.m.
The free screening will also be followed by a talkback session with the “Gomburza” cast.
“Gomburza” won six awards at the 2023 MMFF, becoming the most-awarded film of the festival: Second Best Picture, Best Actor for Cedrick Juan, Best Director for Pepe Diokno, Best Cinematography for Carlo C. Mendoza, Best Production Design for Ericson Navarro, and the Gatpuno Antonio Villegas Cultural Award.
“The film “Gomburza” (the proper shorthand) is about history, about figures who weren’t even as flashy as the explosive Gen. Antonio Luna, or the charming boy general Gregorio Del Pilar—both of whom have been subjects of historical films themselves,” writes Pau Miranda on a review of the film published in December 2023.
[READ: ‘Gomburza’ and why I have hope for the historical film genre]“Compared to these (literal) heroic figures, Gomez, Burgos, and Zamora are more subdued. The story is not about their actions—they didn’t fight in the war after all—it’s about the ideas they nurtured and sparked in Filipinos of their time.”