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"Untold Triumph" East Coast Premiere in Washington D.C. WASHINGTON, DC -- A standing-room-only crowd of more than 300 people squeezed into the Smithsonian Institution's showing of the award-winning documentary AN UNTOLD TRIUMPH
on Thursday, January 30, while another 100-plus were turned away due to fire
marshal restrictions. As the long list of credits rolled and the cheers continued, the filmmakers took their seats on stage for a question-and-answer period. Introduced by the showing's sponsor, Dr. Franklin Odo of the Smithsonian's Asian Pacific American Program, were director Noel Izon, of Washington, DC and his associate producers Stephanie Castillo (lead writer) and Domingo Los Banos (regiment veteran and project advisor) of Honolulu, and Linda Revilla (humanities scholar) of Sacramento, Calif. Attending the showing was the second highest-ranking U.S. Army Filipino American general - Maj. Gen. Antonio Taguba, assigned to the Pentagon as the Director of Army Staff. The general said he was impressed with the hard work shown by the filmmaking team in documenting the two Army regiments. He spoke of "the great pride' generated by the documentary for all Filipino Americans. Gen. Taguba brought his young son to the showing, saying he wanted him to know about this history. The attending crowd reflected the eclectic mix of government people, military personnel and civilians living and working in the DC area. It was ethnically mixed as well, with many Filipino-Americans and Filipino nationals attending. One group of Filipino-Americans traveled from nearby Annapolis, Maryland - 12 U.S. Naval Academy cadets from the institution's Filipino Club. From the White House, a staff person in attendance said he would tell other Asian Pacific Americans working there about the documentary. Before the start of the show, Hawaii Senator Daniel Inouye stopped by to say hello to the team before having to return to congressional duties that night. Also present were World War II Filipino veterans and former guerrillas from the Philippines who are among those who came to the U.S. more than a decade ago to claim U.S. citizenship and war veterans benefits. They continue to fight for the congressional passage of the Filipino Veterans Equity Bill. Eric Lachica, who heads their coalition, called the documentary's showing "a smashing success" and said he would work to set up a showing for interested congress members and their staff. The event and its reception also was sponsored by the American Association of University Women, whose director Jacquelyn Woods called the work "riveting". The AAUW's Educational Foundation supported lead writer Castillo's work with grants and a fellowship while she completed her bachelor's degree and her MBA at the University of Hawaii. "We are very proud of Stephanie and her team for their fine work on this important documentary," Woods told the audience during her welcome address. This showing of AN UNTOLD TRIUMPH was the first held on the east coast. Before its expected television broadcast sometime this year, it is being shown across the country in special screenings, such as this one, and to film festival audiences.
Upcoming showings include: |