© 2009 All Rights Reserved | Camp Roxas Film Project, Tamuning, Guam

Camp Roxas Short Film to Be Shown

at Chicago Filipino American Film Festival

TAMUNING, Guam - A 12-minute short film, Under the American Sun, completed by the Camp Roxas Film Project, has been accepted at the Chicago Filipino American Film Festival, to be held Nov. 7 through 9 in Chicago, Ill.

The short film originally was funded by a National Endowment for the Humanities grant through the Guam Humanities Council. Directed by Los Angeles-based Chamorro filmmaker Alex Munoz, the short film now is being expanded into a 60-minute independent film documentary.

Local filmmaker Burt Sardoma, Jr., a Camp Roxas descendant and co-owner of Videoworks, a Guam production company, is named director for the upcoming 60-minute documentary, still in production.  Alex Munoz, who is currently on-island to film auditions for another feature film project, I Fuetsan I Taotao (Strength of the People), expands his role as producer. He is working closely with Sardoma to film interviews for the documentary.

The Chicago Filipino American Film Festival, sponsored by the Filipino American Network (FAN), supports and highlights Filipino filmmakers in the U.S., Canada and the Philippines. The festival also seeks to educate and enrich the Filipino American community. 

The festival, one of few annual Filipino film festivals outside of the Philippines, features U.S., Chicago and world premieres of feature films. This festival has become a destination for films that have gained international critical and festival recognition, and a showcase for undiscovered talent from the U.S. and the Philippines.  Further information on the 2008 Chicago Filipino American Film Festival is available at cfaff.org

"I have been working closely with Burt on this project for over two years and am deeply committed to this creative effort envisioned by Producer Bernie Provido Schumann," 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.  Additionally, local sponsorship such as the Pacific Islands Club Guam, has provided tremendous community support for the film project."

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.

More information on the upcoming feature-length documentary film, Under the American Sun, still in production, is available by visiting the film website at camproxas.com.

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