PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE MONTH: Bernie Provido Schumann (far right), independent film producer, attended the signing of the Philippine Independence Month proclamation with representatives of the Filipino-American community on Guam on May 30, 2008 at Adelup. Gov. Felix Camacho is shown at center with Bayani Mercado, consul general of the Philippines at Adelup. (Photo by Roel Santiago, courtesy of the Governor's Office)
Camp Roxas Film Project to Debut in Alaska & to Film in Iloilo, Philippines
TAMUNING, Guam – The Camp Roxas Film Project, Under the American Sun, will make its national and international debut July 3 through 5 at the 12th Biennial National Conference of the Filipino American National Historical Society in Anchorage, Alaska.
Independent film producer Bernie Provido Schumann from Tamuning, Guam, will discuss the project’s current on-going research and film production in Alaska at the invitation of the organization. She will join foremost Filipino-American research historians from throughout the world to seek national support and major grant funding. On Guam, Schumann recently coordinated successful fundraisers and made historical presentations regarding the Camp Roxas Film Project to interested local community groups.
“We will be showing videos throughout the conference,” said Seattle-based Dr. Dorothy Laigo Cordova, organization founder and executive director. “We rarely --- if ever --- have presentations about the Guam experience.”
Founded in 1982, the Filipino American National Historical Society (FANHS) serves “to preserve, document, and present Filipino American history and to support scholarly research and artistic works which reflect
that rich past. . .” The national office and archives in Seattle, Wash., supports 27 chapters across the United States. The organization is recognized as the primary informational resource on Filipino Americans for organizations, educational institutions, museums, creative artists and researchers.
To view list of featured conference presentations, including the Camp Roxas Film Project, click HERE. Further information on the Alaska conference is available at the Filipino American National Historical Society (FANHS) website at: http://www.fanhs-national.org/
In response to the project’s rapidly growing international interest, the Under the American Sun film crew will travel in August to Iloilo province, Philippines, where former Camp Roxas residents originated.To handle the greatly accelerated filming schedule, local filmmaker Burt Sardoma, Jr. Camp Roxas descendant and co-owner of Videoworks, a Guam production company, has been named director. Los Angeles-based Chamorro filmmaker Alex Munoz has expanded his role to supervising director.
“I have been working closely with Burt on this project for over two years and am deeply committed to this creative effort envisioned by Bernie,” said Munoz. “I have great trust and belief in Burt’s professional expertise as director and will continue to closely supervise the filming of this important historical effort documenting Filipino migration to Guam.”
An independently produced 60-minute documentary film, Under the American Sun will trace the epic post-World War II migration of Filipino laborers to Guam. The U.S. military recruited skilled laborers and professionals to help rebuild an island devastated by war, resulting in the initial 1946 influx of Filipinos to Guam. The recruitment process lasted for two decades, resulting in a migration of over 10,000 Filipino men and women to Guam.
Under the American Sun tells the story of Filipino immigrants to Guam, the Ilonggos from Iloilo Province, who arrived in 1946 at Camp Roxas in Agat, Guam, after World War II as part of the military reconstruction effort. Their arrival and settlement laid the foundation for four generations of Ilonggos to become Filipino-Americans and part of the Guam community. Further information on the film project is available at camproxas.com.
