Filipino film Quezon's Game on true story of Jewish rescue by Philippine president premieres in UAE

  DUBAI – “Quezon's Game”, which tells of the story how a Philippine president helped rescue Jewish people, is now showing in UAE cinemas. The movie premiered on November 9 at Mall of Emirates in Dubai, coinciding with a historic Jewish event known as the Kristallnacht or the Night of Broken Glass. The Kristallnacht happened in 1938 in Germany where many synagogues were burned, thousands of Jewish businesses were destroyed, and many Jewish lives were lost. "Quezon's Game" tells the little-known story of how the late Philippine president Manuel L. Quezon and the Filipino people provided a safe haven to Holocaust refugees in the 1930s. Quezon's open doors policy was in sharp contrast with policies of other countries at that time. His actions also saved the lives of 1,200 Jews who would have died in the hands of the Nazis. "This movie is very important for everyone to watch and to see what the Filipino community has done for the Jewish people many years ago. This movie is not about to learn what happened some 80 years ago, but what we ask is what will happen tomorrow? What could we do to make a change, to make a better tomorrow?" said Rabbi Levi Duchman, who were among those who watched the premier. Philippine Ambassador to the UAE Hjayceelyn Quintana said the screening of the film was timely. "I am glad that the producers of Quezon's Game have brought this movie to the UAE—a country that is blazing its own trail for greater tolerance and humanity," Quintana said. From left: Filipino Social Club President Ericson Reyes; ABS-CBN Global Managing Director for Europe, Middle East, and Africa Joseph Arnie Garcia; Consul General Marford Angeles; World Group Founder Graham Cooke; Philippine Ambassador to the UAE Hjayceelyn Quintana; Entrepreneur Marlene Murphy; President of Dubai Jewish Community Center Solly Wolf; Labor Attache in Abu Dhabi Atty. Manuel Dimaano; and Filipino Social Club Secretariat Zyra Ray.
Quintana highlighted the Philippines' humanitarian legacy of welcoming refugees who were forced to flee conflict and persecution, citing the Russians in 1917, Jews in 1934, Spaniards in 1936, the Vietnamese in 1974 and Southeast Asians in the 1980s. The Philippine ambassador said that the movie "highlights Quezon's compassion for the oppressed and his deep sense of justice, the direct underpinning of well-known Filipino trait of being hosiptable and welcoming." The film resonated even with the younger generation, like Filipino-Jew Talia Conway. "As a mixed child, you don't usually see both your cultures in a big screen very often and it is very interesting for me to see both sides of the story because I usually hear about the holocaust, what happened to my family, my descendants, but I don't usually hear about the Philippines and their help. This is really interesting. I've never heard this before and it is very important to my culture to know because I'm half Filipino," Conway said. The UAE release of the film "Quezon's Game" also underscores the unprecedented close relations between UAE and Israel, after the Abraham Accord was signed last August. "Quezon's Game" was produced by Star Cinema in association with iWant, and Kinetek, and stars Raymund Bagatsing, Rachel Alejandro, David Bianco, Billy Ray Gallion, James Paolelli, and Kate Alejandrino. It is directed by Matthew Rosen, written by Janice Y. Perez and Dean Rosen, and is based on the original story of Matthew Rosen and Lorena H. Rosen. ICA/Expat Media
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