18 March 2014 - As the opening salvo for its 2014 cultural series, the Embassy of the Philippines, in cooperation with the Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP), screened to an SRO crowd the Philippine film “My Amnesia Girl” on February 28 at the Acacia Hall of the Philippine Embassy in Beijing, under the series “Of Life, Love and Dreams:  Discovering Philippine Cinema”.

In her introductory remarks, Philippine Ambassador to China Erlinda Basilio said that by screening the romantic comedy, the Philippine Embassy hoped to share with the Chinese audience the lighter side of the Filipino psyche – happy, fun-loving, sentimental, yet resilient in the face of life’s challenges.  In tracing the history of Philippine cinema, she recounted how film had been a staple of Filipino life for decades, seeing Filipinos through revolutions, upheaval, defeat and victory.  

She emphasized the power of film as a universal language and as a medium with binding power, referring to the journey of Apollo and Irene, the main characters of the film, as the journey of so many young people in the Philippines and in China.

“My Amnesia Girl” was released in the Philippines in 2010, and was considered the Philippines’ highest grossing film for that year.  Chinese subtitling was done in collaboration with the Kaisa Foundation in the Philippines, a group that aims to promote greater understanding among the Filipino, Chinese and Tsinoy communities.

Special guests were treated to cocktails Philippine-style after the screening, with Filipino and Chinese pop music entertaining the predominantly young Chinese audience who came to see the film. END