'Hindi niyo alam ginagawa niyo': Manuel Quezon's grandson goes off on 'Quezon' biopic creators
Manuel Quezon's grandson delivered some heated words aimed at the film's director, Jerrold Tayog, creative team, and lead star Jericho Rosales about the biopic on the Philippines' second president.
After the Oct. 23 screening of Quezon at the Power Plant Cinemas, the question-and-answer session became tense when Quezon's grandson Ricky Avanceña took to the mic for over four minutes to confront the team behind Quezon, specifically Tarog.
Avanceña had already started his questions when a video of the incident, posted by an X user, began. He was caught asking Tarog whether the film was a satire. Tarog replied that the topic was serious, and that one could tell serious stories through laughter.
"Hindi parang opera itong ginawa niyo," Avancena told Tarog, who has a bachelor's degree in music composition from the College of Music University of the Philippines Diliman. "[This is a] historical film. So if you say satire, that means joke lang pala."
Claiming that night was his third time watching the film, Avanceña added, "Sinalaula niyo ang alaala ng aking lolo... You did not... have the artistic integrity to stand by this product if you will say it is satire."
At some point, Rosales attempted to divert attention to other audience members who may have had questions of their own. But Avanceña continued his tirade.
Saying the film's creators had opened a Pandora's box, he implied that today's Filipino youth might get the wrong information about the country's history.
"Hindi niyo alam ginagawa niyo. Dahil kayo, gusto niyong kumita ng pera, gusto niyong sumikat," Avanceña said.
"China-channel ko ngayon ang aking lolo sa pagsabi ko sa inyo nito. P*nyeta kayo, mga put****na niyo. Mga kupal kayo!" he concluded before dropping the mic.
Tarog, who was silent through most of the rant, simply said, "Thank you, sir."
On Facebook, Avanceña continued his venting, telling his followers, "I'm not saying don't watch the movie... Watch it, and then join me in a social media defense, mga Quezon followers."
In the days prior to this, Avanceña had already been posting anecdotes about his grandfather, and comparisons between the film and his "own study and research."
Responding to Avanceña's comments, TBA Studios, the producing studio of Quezon, released a statement on Oct. 24.
"At the recent talkback session for the film, one of President Manuel L. Quezon’s descendants expressed his views on the movie. While we respect and understand his sentiments, we wish to reiterate that the film is grounded in verified historical accounts, including President Quezon’s own autobiography and other reputable sources," the studio wrote.
"While the film includes fictional elements for thematic purposes, the facts and details presented in the film are easily verifiable through public records, online research, or library resources. To support further learning, the production has released a Study Guide and Companion Book with a comprehensive list of the books and references used in the film’s research," it added.
Quezon, now on its second week showing in over 300 cinemas nationwide, is the third film in Tarog's "Bayaniverse" series, which features Filipino heroes. Heneral Luna, starring John Arcilla as Antonio Luna, showed in 2015, followed in 2018 by Goyo, starring Paulo Avelino as Gregorio del Pilar.
