10/25/2011 6:30 PM – 9:30 PM
Cantor Film Center
36 East 8th Street, Theater 101, New York, NY 10003
Celebrating The 150th Anniversary Of The Birth Of José Rizal Screening Of “Amigo” & Conversation With Director John Sayles And National Book Foundation Executive Director Harold Augenbraum, Moderated By Poet Luis H. Francia.
This evening celebrating the 150th Anniversary of the birth of Filipino writer, political activist, and Philippine national hero José Rizal begins with a screening of the new John Sayles film “Amigo.” The film, starring Chris Cooper and Garret Dillahunt, is set during the Philippine-American War in 1900, as a village mayor (Joel Torre) tries to negotiate between the local guerrillas and the American forces garrisoned in his town.
After the screening, Harold Augenbraum, the executive director of the National Book Foundation will be in conversation with director John Sayles. Augenbraum has translated Rizalʼs seminal titles Noli Me Tangere and most recently El Filibusterismo for the 65th year of Penguin Classics. José Rizal was one of the leading champions of Filipino nationalism and independence. His masterpiece, Noli Me Tangere, is widely considered to be the foundational novel of the Philippines. El Filibusterismo is a riveting continuation, which picks up the story thirteen years later and serves as an account of Filipino resistance to colonial rule that still resonates today. The conversation will be moderated by poet and scholar Luis H. Francia from the A/P/A Studies Program at NYU. Franciaʼs A History of the Philippines: From Indios Bravos to Filipinos (Overlook Press) was published in 2010. Books will be available for purchase and signing.