Making a Small Film for a Renaissance Man

Working on perpetuating further the greatness of a man is a big task and responsibility. And when it is done for what they call the ‘least in the society’ the responsibility becomes even heavier.

Finishing and accomplishing the task of making the film ULTIMO ADIOS in Filipino Sign Language to launch this afternoon at 1 o’clock will be one responsibility off me. It will now fly to be in the senses of sensitive Deaf Filipinos and the hearing persons who look up to the greatness of Dr. Jose Rizal. He wrote the poem in 1896 before he was shot to death by a firing squad.

I do not know what its impact would be to the DEAF but I have seen how it worked and touched the hearts of several literati at the UP where I had it previewed before the organizing committee members of the First Rizal International Conference last June 15. Their reaction has proven the universality of emotions, film language and music. They actually decided to show two stanzas from the film interspersed with a live performance by Aldrin Gabriel who acted as Deaf Rizal in the film.

My tasks do not end today after the launching of PROJECT RIZAL. It is but the beginning… I have yet to finish LA JUVENTUD FILIPINA, and to shoot THE FLOWERS OF HEIDELBERG, ALAY KAY MARIA CLARA, and a fifth poem which I haven’t yet decided to replace SA AKING KABABATA. I had to remove from the list the last poem because of the current issue now ongoing that Rizal could not have written that poem.

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