| Post Dukot Tour Write Up And Maraming Salamat Po / Thank You |
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At the June 2nd press conference, the Dukot guests -- screenwriter Bonifacio Ilagan, producer Dennis Evangelista, lead actor Allen Dizon and US-based artist and activist Melissa Roxas, survivor of torture and abduction - talked about the film and the terrible reality of the extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances in the Philippines. Co-sponsored by the Coalition of Progressive Electors (COPE) and the W2 Community Media Arts Society, the press conference was covered by social media networks and the Philippine media. Watch the live stream video footage at http://qik.com/video/7069515. For photos, click here http://picasaweb.google.com/CPSolidarity4HR/DukotVancouverTourJune2ndPressConference?feat=directlink. Later that evening, Mable Elmore, MLA of Vancouver Kensington, co-hosted Evening Reception for the Dukot guests at her Constituency office. Filipino community groups came to meet the people behind this highly controversial film. For pictures, click here http://picasaweb.google.com/CPSolidarity4HR/DukotVancouverTourReceptionAtTheMLAMableElmoreSConstituencyOfficeJune2?feat=directlink On June 3rd Bonifacio Ilagan and Dennis Evangelista went to Victoria for a very Special Reception for the Filipino community at the Provincial Legislature on the invitation of MLA Mable Elmore. The two Dukot guests met other Filipino representatives from the other parts of BC, toured the Legislature building and had lunch with the Opposition Caucus. For pictures, click here http://picasaweb.google.com/CPSolidarity4HR/DukotVancouverTourVisitToBCLegislatureJune3?feat=directlink On the nights of June 3 to 5, Dukot played at the the UBC Robson Square Theatre and the Vancouver Public Library and touched the audiences with its powerful message of repression and hope. Bonifacio Ilagan, Dennis Evangelista, Allen Dizon and Melissa Roxas answered questions from the audience after each screening. Autographs were collected, photographs with the Dukot guests were taken (and taken again) to share with and brag about in Facebook. Conversations with the guests continued on till closing time-- the friend from Iran who shook Bonifacio Ilagan's hands and said he was a prisoner too, the retired teacher from east Vancouver who was moved to tears; the middle-aged Pinay from the audience who said that now was the time to act for her, the live-in-caregivers who spent their day off to watch Dukot and the Filipino old-timer who listened in disbelief to Melissa's story and was completely overwhelmed by the cruelty done to her. People signed the petition to free the detained 43 health workers, a petition that will make its way to the recently proclaimed Philippine President Benigno Aquino III. Similarly, the response was warm and concrete when the organizers raised the public appeal for the Melissa Medical Fund, monies which go directly to pay for tests to help her with her post-torture trauma.. For pictures of the three film screenings, click here (Interesting note: The Dukot film left the Philippines with Gloria Arroyo still in power and returned home to the Philippines with a new President in the Malacanang palace.) On June 5th, the Vancouver sun shone brightly on the « Art beyond borders: live art petition » event hosted by Melissa Roxas and Vancouver-based Filipino artist Bert Monterona held outside the office of MLA Mable Elmore on Fraser St. With the songs of the Vancouver-Kensington Singers in the background, the huge canvas mural « petition » was painted on with images and strong solidarity messages from the Alliance for People's Health, Migrante Youth, seniors, children and passers-by and the member organizations of the Organizing Committee. Watch the ABS-CBN Balitang America coverage at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rMUSEDexxtk . For pictures, click here http://picasaweb.google.com/CPSolidarity4HR/DukotVancouverTourArtBeyondBordersLiveArtPetitionForTheMorong43June5?feat=directlink It is not every year that a film like Dukot makes its way to our cities. It is not every year that such a hard-hitting film from the Philippines is made either. It was our privilege to host the film and the Dukot guests in Vancouver. The film and our guests certainly won the hearts of not only the Filipino community but also of the Canadian public. The Organizing Committee summed it all up this way: «To fight for human rights is not a Filipino issue alone. Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere, said Martin Luther King, Jr. It is an issue that binds us all together as human beings. The missing and the dead cannot cry out for justice. It is our duty as the living to do it for them.» Maraming salamat po. Thank you to our Dukot guests and to everyone for the generous support of our partners, sponsors, volunteers, media friends, members who shared their time, their homes, their cars, their days and nights, and their hearts to make the last Canadian stop of Dukot a success. Maraming Salamat Po - Thank You
Canada-Philippines Solidarity for Human Rights Mailing Address:1-5687 West Blvd, Vancouver BC V6M 3W75 Tel: 604.732.4131 Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it DUKOT ORGANIZING COMMITTEE IN VANCOUVER
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