In August, Honorary Georgian Consul Thelmo Cunanan will hold a special film screening and photo exhibition at the David Baazov Museum of the History of the Jews of Georgia.

The movie, entitled “Refuge in the Philippines”, is a story about the help and assistance Filipinos extended to Jews fleeing the holocaust in Europe in World War II. The Philippines was only one of a handful of countries that opened its doors to Jewish refugees. In total, approximately 10,000 Jews came to the Philippines and were saved.

The exhibition, on the other hand, is about the disaster and calamity assistance activities of the Jewish Association of the Philippines, including its efforts during the devastating Typhoon Haiyan. Consul Cunanan’s project is in cooperation with the Jewish Association of the Philippines and its administrator Lee Blumenthal; Dr. Lela Tsitsuashvili of the Shalva Amaranashvili Museum of Fine Arts; and Dr. Givi Gambashidze, Director of the David Baazov Museum of the History of Jews of Georgia.

Consul Cunanan was responsible for establishing the friendship between the Jewish Association of the Philippines and Jewish Community in Georgia.