Consul a.h. Thelmo Luis Cunanan of the Republic of Georgia with Consul a.h. Anna Marie Ablan of Belarus during the film turnover to DLSU Library in the presence of Br. Michael Broughton, FSC, the Vice Chancellor for Lasallian Mission and multi-awarded film director, Mr. Lito Casaje, Tourism/PR Director of Georgia, Prof. Melissa Grace Dizon-Dulalia, Mr. Julio C. Teehankee, Dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Dr. Clodualdo del Mundo Jr., Professor Emeritus, Department of Communication.
On July 14, 2014, the Consulates of Georgia and Belarus in the Philippines made a joint donation of films to the Film Library of De La Salle University (DLSU). The project was an initiative of Consuls (a.h.) Thelmo Cunanan Jr of Georgia and Anna Marie Ablan of Belarus, in cooperation with the Georgian National Film Center and the Embassy of Belarus in Indonesia, which generously provided their countries’ films.
The films from Belarus were the World War II history movies “And Khatyn Will Live on”, “Belarus. Four Years of War”, and “Shoes”. From Georgia, on the other hand, were “Father of a Soldier”, “Will There be a Theatre up There?”, “The Other Bank”, “Keep Smiling”, and a collection of cinematic shorts.
The event, which was held at DLSU’s Yuchengco Hall, began with welcome remarks by Dr. Julio C. Teehankee, Dean of the College of Liberal Arts, who spoke about the importance of international relations, networking, and friendship and expressed his gratitude towards the two consuls for their arranging the donation of movies. While the DLSU Film library has many films from Western Europe, he stressed that these were the first movies from any of the former Soviet republics.
In their speeches, Consuls Cunanan and Ablan talked about their respective countries and their own initiatives to bring these closer to the Philippines. Consul Ablan thanked DLSU for accepting the donation and stressed the importance for Filipinos to remember the lessons of the Second World War. Citing the theme of “Father of a Soldier”, Consul Cunanan also mentioned Georgia’s own contribution to the Allied war effort. He also talked about his long personal relationship with the country, its vibrant film industry, and his many projects to promote Georgian cinema in the Philippines. Consul Cunanan stressed that the donation to DLSU was especially significant as this is the first such cinematic initiative of his country with a Philippine educational institution and that he would work for a regular donation of Georgian films to DLSU.
Accepting the film donations on behalf of the university was Bro. Michael J. Broughton FSC, Vice-Chancellor for the Lasallian Mission, who said the films would form the nucleus of the school’s Eastern European collection and that this would greatly expand and enhance the international awareness of the student body. He also praised the two consuls’ efforts to bridge relations between their countries and the Philippines and cited the need to expand horizons and establish cultural connections with the countries of Eastern Europe.
Introducing the films to the assembled officials was Dr. Clodualdo del Mundo Jr., famous film critic, scriptwriter, and Professor Emeritus of the DLSU Department of Communications. After the speeches, there was a screening of the 26-minute feature “Shoes”. The rest of the movies will be viewed over the course of the semester by DLSU’s film and international relations students.
The donation ceremony was emceed by Mr. Carlito “Lito” Casaje, President and Artistic Director of Dramatis Personae, and Prof. Melissa Dizon-Dulalia, Public Relations and Tourism Director of the Consulate of Georgia. Consuls Cunanan and Ablan and their colleagues were later given a tour of The Learning Commons, the main university library of DLSU and the home of the school’s film library.
