EXCLUSIVE: ‘1521’ producer welcomes film’s critics: ‘This is a historical drama’

Peter Andrew Acierto

<p>The producer of <em>1521: The Quest for Love and Freedom</em> shared in an exclusive interview with <a href="https://push.abs-cbn.com"><strong>PUSH</strong></a> that they are open to criticisms about their film which is set to be released in cinemas nationwide this June 5. This comes after the trailer of the film was met with various reactions from netizens as they aired their concerns for its historical accuracy.</p><div><iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2F1521themovie%2Fposts%2Fpfbid0p2EfJXbact4rsgqas6vEPQBkfvrwDHaAjJMpoUijzsva4RT7BHAi6rAKir8pKGeTl&amp;show_text=false&amp;width=500&amp;preview=comet_preview" width="500" height="498" style="border:none;overflow:hidden" scrolling="no" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div><p>1521: The Quest for Love and Freedom tells the story of the pre-Spanish era Philippines where a young princess (played by Bea Alonzo) falls in love with a Spanish soldier. The two find romance amidst the battle of Lapu-Lapu and Ferdinand Magellan in Mactan, Cebu.</p><p>Speaking with <a href="https://push.abs-cbn.com"><strong>PUSH</strong></a>, Francis Ho, the film’s producer, shared how they “welcome” the criticism thrown at their film.</p><div><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">“Welcomed and appreciated their constructive criticisms while at the same time reminded them this is a historical drama and not a historical documentary. [We] clarified that the battle of Mactan is historical but the love story is fictional,” he shared.</span><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"></span></div><div><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">The producer added that despite having limited budget, the crew became resourceful and overcame all the odds thrown at them as they accomplished an “extraordinarily huge vision.”</span><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"></span></div><div><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Francis maintained that they based the historical facts on the primary sources written by Venetian scholar and explorer Antonio Pigafetta. The story of the film was balanced as well with several resources coming from Filipino scholars.</span><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"></span></div><div><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">“The story, the storytelling ideas and the vision came from me and then I hired an award winning screenwriter to write the screenplay. [We] based our facts on the historical events from primary sources (Pigafetta’s chronicle) and balanced it with resources by Filipino scholars,” he added. </span><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"></span></div><div><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">The <em>1521: The Quest for Love and Freedom</em> producer hoped that Filipinos will take a chance to watch their film as it is a “testament” of the dream they pursued.</span><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"></span></div><div><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">“The success of <em>1521</em> will benefit all Filipinos so let’s go out to theaters starting June 5 to ensure the success of <em>1521</em> that will benefit us all,” he continued.</span><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"><em></em></span></div><div><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"><em>1521: The Quest for Love and Freedom</em> will be distributed by Viva Films in collaboration with Inspire Studios. The film made its mark across 650 theaters in the United States in October last year.</span><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"></span></div><div><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">The film has done well internationally as it has already garnered four international awards–– the Best Feature Film award at the Athens IMA Film Festival, Best Feature Film and Best Cinematography Feature Film at the Swedish Film Awards, and Best Feature Film at the London Independent Film Awards. </span></div>

EXCLUSIVE: ‘1521’ producer welcomes film’s critics: ‘This is a historical drama’

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EXCLUSIVE: ‘1521’ producer welcomes film’s critics: ‘This is a historical drama’

Drew Acierto

Published Jun 05, 2024 01:50 PM PHT

Read More:

1521

Bea Alonzo

1521: The Quest for Love and Freedom

Viva Films

Francis Ho

Inspire Studios

PUSH Exclusive

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