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Why produce a film about Ignacio?
In our research, we found out that very few feature films on St. Ignatius exist. In the Ateneo de Manila University – Philippines, for example, what is shown to students is a black and white Spanish movie on St. Ignatius shot in the late 40s! Also used are short documentaries.
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Despite this lack of media material, however, there is currently a surge of interest in the life of the saint and his enduring legacy to the Church and the world – owing in large part, perhaps, to the ascent to the papacy of the first Jesuit Pope, the endearing Pope Francis. More to the point, in his bestselling book, HEROIC LEADERSHIP, Chris Lowney writes that if one talks about successful global corporations, surely one should not miss out on the Society of Jesus which has existed for centuries and has long served the world via its network of schools, parishes and social centers.
The secret of that enduring Company, he says, is the spirit of its founder, St. Ignatius of Loyola. Certainly, the world, especially our youth deserves to rediscover the life of this saint and be inspired by his example. Thus, our dream of putting his story on the big screen slowly took shape.
In 2011, we put together a team of writers and consultants to craft the first set of sequence treatments for the movie. But it wasn't easy! It took us a couple of years and many attempts to finally come up with a solid treatment. And now, after three long years, we are finally ready to go on to the next stage.
What is our vision for Ignacio?
'IGNACIO' is a full-length feature film about St. Ignatius of Loyola, founder of the Society of Jesus. It is an incisive and thrilling look at his life as told by a young priest who was once assigned
to defend him before the Spanish Inquisition. We meet the real man behind the
legend, following his transformation from a brash, impulsive youth obsessed
with women and sword-fighting; to the masterful, charismatic leader of an order
that would change the face of Christendom.
In his lifelong quest to become the heroic Knight of his fantasies, Ignacio stares death in the face again and again, finding himself imprisoned for
murder; having his leg shattered by a cannonball in battle; driven to near
suicide by his inner demons; and finally finding his life in the hands of the
Inquisition. Through it all, he would come to see the hand of God working in
his life, shaping the self-obsessed sinner into the loyal and passionate
soldier-saint.
The
film also shows how Ignacio wove the trials, errors, and lessons of his eventful
life into the fabric of his masterpiece, the Spiritual Exercises. Combining
clarity of thought with Ignacio's own love of fantasy and imagination, the
Exercises form a rigorous method of making one's life decisions, and have
guided and influenced countless seekers throughout history.
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THE LOCATIONS
In order to stay true to the story of Ignacio, the film will be shot entirely in Spain, with some scenes filmed in the actual places where certain events in Ignacio’s life took place, namely: Montserrat in Barcelona, Manresa, Pamplona, and Loyola, birthplace of St. Ignatius.
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We are confident that we can competently execute this project. We have done numerous high quality media projects recognized by various award-giving bodies.
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Who We Are
Jesuit Communications Foundation, Inc. (JesCom) produces audiovisual materials for evangelization and education. Part of JesCom's mission is to use media – from the visual, to the musical – in the most effective manner possible, in order to empower the Church in proclaiming the Gospel and its values to the modern world. JesCom is currently headed by Fr. Emmanuel Alfonso, SJ, who is also the Executive Producer of IGNACIO. You can read more about JesCom here.
The Team
JesCom has put together an outstanding team to work on bringing IGNACIO to the big screen. All passionate and devoted to their craft, each team member is committed to strive for MAGIS-- to do more, to be better, to aim for excellence-- all for the greater glory of God.
PRODUCTION
Pauline
Mangilog-Saltarin, JesCom's Creative Director, and Ernestine Tamana, JesCom's Production Manager, are the designated Producers of IGNACIO. Together, Ernestine and Pauline have
worked on more than fifty projects ranging from documentaries, talk
shows, and music videos to audio visual
presentations and public service ads.
Their TV productions have been recognized by award-giving bodies both in
the Philippines and abroad, including the Telly Awards, the International Festival of Audiovisual de
Barcelona, Japan Prize, Catholic
Mass Media Awards and most recently, Poland’s XXIX International Catholic Film
and Multimedia Festival.
DIRECTION
Paolo
Dy is an Asian freelance film director based in Manila. He
has directed over a hundred commercials in the region, including spots for
Procter & Gamble, Colgate-Palmolive, SC Johnson, and Kraft Foods,
among many others. His work has aired in Thailand, Vietnam,
Indonesia, Korea, Australia, and the United States. His directorial work for
Ayala Corporation has won yearly consecutive Anvil Awards, Gold Quill
Awards of Excellence and finalist citations at the New York
Festivals.
In
January 2004, Paolo won First Place on MTV Asia’s THE
PITCH screenwriting competition in Singapore, with his screenplay ‘The
Oracle.’ In 2010 his film Creative License won first place in
the US National 24-Hour Filmracing Competition. Paolo’s first short
film ‘MIKO’ won First Place in the Bogen Imaging Short Film
Competition in New York, while his second short
film ‘QWERTY’ was a finalist in Spike Lee's Babelgum Online Film
Festival, and it also screened at the 2008 Asian Hot Shots Festival in
Berlin. Both films have been screened at the Cinemanila International Film
Festival.
IGNACIO is Paolo's feature film directorial debut. You can watch Paolo's show reel here.
SCRIPT
Ian Victoriano works in various media, including film and
video, short fiction, and painting. His recent works include scripts for KATIPUNAN, a television series on the 1896 Philippine revolution produced by
GMA News and Public Affairs, and Mikhail Red’s REKORDER, a Cinemalaya
production.
He was the scriptwriter of the Raymond Red feature films BAYANI (1992) and SAKAY (1993). He has also worked
extensively for children’s educational television, in shows produced by the
ABS-CBN Foundation such as SINE’SKWELA, HIRAYA
MANAWARI, and BAYANI.
For IGNACIO, Ian collaborates with Paolo in coming up with an intelligent and powerful script that will best tell Ignacio's story. Also part of our script committee are Jesuit consultants Fr. Jerry Martinson, SJ, Fr. Rene Javellana, SJ, Fr. Karel San Juan, SJ, Fr. Tony de Castro, SJ, and Fr. Louis Catalan, SJ.
LIGHTING DESIGN
Master cinematographer Lauro Rene "Larry" Manda is now on board as
our Director of Photography, bringing with him more than twenty years of experience
in shooting award-winning films, commercials and music videos. His most recent
film, Norte, The End of History, has been screened at the Un Certain Regard section at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival, as well as the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival, 2013 New York Film Festival, and the Masters section of the 2013 San Diego Asian Film Festival. Much of the critical acclaim of "Norte" is credited to Larry:
"...there are long stretches of "Norte" that are absolutely spellbinding to watch, aided in no small part from the excellent performances from the cast and the often stunning cinematography from Lauro Rene Manda." -source
For his work in "Norte", Larry has won Best Cinematography at the 2014 Gawad Urian Awards.
ART DIRECTION
We are lucky to have Fr. Rene Javellana, SJ on our team as Art Director. Fr. Rene is a writer, liturgical artist and art historian. He is currently the Art Management Coordinator of the Ateneo de Manila's College of Fine Arts. His expertise in art history, particularly in 15th and 16th century Spanish art, will be an invaluable contribution to this film.
PRODUCTION AND COSTUME DESIGN
Fritz Silorio is an award-winning Production Designer whose outstanding work on the film "Boy Golden" earned him the Best Production Design Award at the 2014 Filipino Academy of Movie Arts and Sciences (FAMAS) Awards, Star Awards and Gawad Tanglaw Awards. Fritz also won the Best Production Design Award at the 2012 Film Academy of the Philippines (FAP) Awards for the film "Manila Kingpin: The Asiong Salonga Story".
Need more information? E-mail us at ignacio@jescom.ph.
