MANILA (UCAN): Thousands in the Philippines continue to flock to theaters to watch the award-winning film, GomBurZa, an historical biopic about three Filipino priests who were executed on the orders of the Spanish colonial authorities on charges of subversion and treason on 17 February 1872, for alleged involvement in the Cavite mutiny in January of that year.
Released nationwide on Christmas Day, GomBurZa recounts the story of Father Mariano Gomez, Father Jose Apolonio Burgos, and Father Jacinto Zamora. The film’s title is a combination of the three priests’ first syllables of their surnames.
Produced by Jesuit Communications, MQuest Ventures and CMB Film Services, the movie has already received awards at several film festivals including in the 49th Metro Manila Film Festival on 28 December 2023.
Bishop Pablo Virgilio David of Kalookan, the president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines, urged Filipinos to watch the film.
“It is a well-researched historical film that will bring you back to the first spark of patriotism that forged the ‘Filipino’ identity that eventually united us Tagalogs, Kapampangans, Ilocanos, Cebuanos, natives, mestizos, criollos and all other inhabitants of these 7,000 plus islands into one nation in the last quarter of the 19th century,” the bishop said in a statement.
Jon Ivan Torreros, a communications student, said he was so excited about the film that he joined his friend to flock to a local theater in Tacloban City, Leyte.
“I have known [about] GomBurZa since I was in elementary school, but it was only about their death. Now that I am in college, I learned that they are one of the biggest reasons why the Filipinos made sure of their independence,” he went on to say.
It is a well-researched historical film that will bring you back to the first spark of patriotism that forged the ‘Filipino’ identity that eventually united us Tagalogs, Kapampangans, Ilocanos, Cebuanos, natives, mestizos, criollos and all other inhabitants of these 7,000 plus islands into one nation in the last quarter of the 19th century
Bishop David
“So they were the driving force… especially since they were also the reason for the awakening of the nationalism of Dr. José Rizal,” Torreros added.
“I also saw the reviews from historians who approved this film,” Torreros said.
As we celebrate the 500 years of Christianity in the Philippines. The Chaplaincy to Filipino Migrants organises an on-line talk every Tuesday at 9.00pm. You can join us at:
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Rizal a Philippine national hero, was executed on 30 December 1896, at Luneta Park—then situated on the shores of Manila Bay, the same place where Father Gomez, Father Burgos, and Father Zamora were executed.
Rizal’s execution sparked a massive revolution against the Spanish who had ruled the country from 1565 to 1898.
Bishop David said in his statement that watching the film “will make you appreciate what it truly means to be a Filipino.”
Philippine journalist, Howie Severino, called the film “an epic reminder of our cinematic history.”
Severino wrote in a Facebook post on January 2, “GomBurZa is among the most hallowed words in Philippine history… There is some general awareness of their relationship to what came after them—an inspired José Rizal and the rise of a Filipino consciousness that led to the revolution of 1896.”
According to Severino, “A critical incident in the film was the classroom rebellion against the Latin medium of instruction imposed inside the university. Signifying language as a tool for both controlling and liberating the mind, it evokes similar debates today about using mother tongues in schools.”
At the Metro Manila Film Festival, the film received multiple awards including Best Actor, Best Director, Second Best Picture, Best Cinematography, Best Production Design, Best Sound Design, and the special Gatpuno Antonio Villegas Cultural Award.
