‘Quezon’s Game’ Premieres in London Featuring Live Concert with Shulem Lemmer and Rachel Alejandro
Toronto-Canada
January 30, 2020
L-R: Arranger/musical director Chris Cameron, iWant TV President Linggit Tan, Quezon’s Game lead actress Rachel Alejandro, Quezon’s Game theme composer George Hargreaves and Universal Music recording artist Shulem
As the world observes International Holocaust Remembrance Day (Jan 27, 2020) this week to remember the multitude of Jews who lost their lives under Hitler’s regime, Quezon’s Game reminds the world of the great leader who was responsible for those fortunate enough to be saved when the odds were stacked against them.
Left photo: The Quezons’ daughter, Baby ( Kate Alejandrino) , distracts newly arrived Nazi SS officer, Lt. Commander Ebner (Kevin Kraemer), to allow her father to speak privately with German Ambassador Kaiser (Ham Mcleod ).; Right photo: In an effort to overcome ongoing objections, Philippine President Manuel L. Quezon (Raymond Bagatsing) takes to the airwaves to enlist the support of the Filipino people to publicly convince the U.S. to allow Jewish refugees to emigrate to the Philippines during WWII and the tactic works.
Many have heard of Schindler’s List , but very few know about Philippine President Manuel Quezon saving over 1,200 Jews fleeing Nazi Germany and Austria. The critically acclaimed winner of 25 international film festival awards directed by Matthew Rosen is a magnificent cinematic and musical tribute to Philippine President Manuel Quezon (Raymond Bagatsing), which highlights his selfless act of heroism at great personal, financial and political cost.
Philippine President Manuel L. Quezon (Raymond Bagatsing/seated) hopes to secure the support of German Ambassador Kaiser (Ham Mcleod/white suit) by offering him a bribe … But is thwarted when Kaiser is accompanied by the newly appointed German Embassy Chief of Security, Nazi SS officer Lt. Commander Ebner (Kevin Kraemer).
Philippine Vice-President Sergio Osmeña ( Audie Gemora/left) , worried about political ramifications not moral duty, confronts Philippine President Manuel L. Quezon (Raymond Bagatsing) about his covert Jewish rescue operation.
Quezon courageously defied the United States at the time when the Philippines was a U.S. colony by fighting to offer the Jews sanctuary in his country sparking the ire of both his political rivals and his own party. It was his determination to stand against Nazi tyranny by saving the lives of Jews oceans away when other countries denied them entry which set him apart from the other nations’ leaders of that time. Unfortunately, his incredible act of heroism was almost forgotten and omitted or overlooked in most history books. Rosen, a British Jew living in the Philippines for almost forty years, made it his mission to change that.
Philippine President Manuel L. Quezon (Raymond Bagatsing) enlisted the aid of American diplomat Paul V. McNutt ( James Paoleli), U.S. High Commissioner (and later Ambassador) to the Philippines, who imperiled his own political career and presidential aspirations to help overcome the States’ opposition of a frenetic plan to rescue Jewish refugees during the Holocaust
The Quezon’s Game Film in Concert and Premiere in London was held at the Troxy on January 28, 2020 at 7:00 p.m. with director Matthew Rosen and lead actor Raymond Bagatsing in attendance. Concert headliners were Universal Music’s first Hasidic recording artist Shulem Lemmer and Quezon’s Game star, actress/singer Rachel Alejandro who plays First Lady Aurora Quezon and wrote the chorus for the Tagalog version of “Quezon’s Theme”. A lot of careful thought has gone into the making of this movie right down to the musical score and the heartfelt lyrics of both the English and Tagalog versions of Quezon’s Theme with words and music by James George Hargreaves and orchestration by Chris Cameron.
NOTE: When you see the movie, make sure you stick around to watch the credits until the very end because it includes brief video interviews with the elderly Jewish refugees Quezon rescued along with Shulem and Rachel Alejandro’s emotional renditions of the theme song. They also kindly took the time to share their thoughts before the concert in their interviews below.
Q&A with Rachel Alejandro
Philippine First Lady Aurora Quezon ( Rachel Alejandro) confronts her husband, President Manuel L. Quezon (Raymond Bagatsing), who is focused on saving the lives of Jews facing certain death in WWII Nazi concentration camps, ignoring his own gravely failing health.
MICHELLE: Were you aware of Quezon’s role in rescuing the Jews prior to working on this movie?
RACHEL: No, unfortunately, I never learned that in school. Most Filipinos did not learn about this part of our history until the Philippine release of the film last May 2019.
MICHELLE: Has playing Aurora impacted you or changed you personally in an unexpected way? If so, how?
RACHEL: When I researched about Aurora, what I learned inspired me even more to work on giving the role justice. She was truly beloved by the people because she was courageous and selfless. But even as she did heroic deeds, she was also flesh and blood – a wife and mother who had her own dreams and desires for herself and her family. Tackling that role made me strive more as an actor if I were to bring Aurora to life in me.
MICHELLE: How did you go about preparing to play Aurora? Were you able to talk to any surviving relatives?
RACHEL: I was not able to talk to any relatives, but I was able to find many insights about her character online including a book called “Aurora A. Quezon: her life and deeds”. I wrote about my experience in preparing for the role in this feature in a newspaper: www.google.com/amp/s/www.philstar.com/lifestyle/sunday-life/2019/06/09/1924749/becoming-aurora-quezon/amp/
MICHELLE: As a singer and songwriter, tell us about your thought process in creating a fitting musical tribute for Quezon?
RACHEL: I only wrote the Tagalog lyrics for the chorus. Jonathan Manalo of Star Music wrote the full Tagalog lyrics which I will be performing for the film in concert tomorrow night at Troxy. The song was actually composed by George Hargreaves, a London-based songwriter and movie marketing consultant. Tagalog translation was by Jonathan Manalo.
MICHELLE: What do you hope people will take away from watching the movie and your London concert?
RACHEL: The story of Quezon’s Game is still so relevant to the issues our world is facing today. There is so much division and hatred caused by fear. If a president like Quezon can rally his people to show kindness and provide a home for those they have never met, so can we. This shining example of compassion is what I hope people will take away from the film.
MICHELLE: Why do you feel it’s important to tell Quezon’s story now? From what I have learned asking different generations of people who grew up in the Philippines, they all said that they were never taught this part of history in school. Is that really the case for the majority over there?
RACHEL: It was a story that the Rosen family felt that they needed to tell. With the support of Star Cinema, they made that dream of theirs a reality. One only needs to read or watch the news to see how important this story is today. We are one global community. We need to stop thinking “us first” or “it’s us against them”. Once we realize that, I believe the world will truly become a better place.
Q&A with Shulem Lemmer
Shulem at the London premiere of Quezon’s Game
MICHELLE: It’s really amazing how they got you on board for this. How did that happen?
SHULEM: It’s very interesting. The advisor or consultant, when they decided to really make the movie – his name is George Hargreaves – he decided that the movie needs a new score and a theme song. So, towards the end of the movie where he (President Quezon) regrets not doing enough, they were looking for a Jewish singer as if to tell him, you know, don’t beat yourself up, don’t regret it. For every life you saved, you saved the world. That’s a very well-known verse from the Talmud. So, they were looking for a Jewish singer and once they googled and found me, apparently this is what they wanted and I’m grateful that they reached out to me and I was able to be part of this.
MICHELLE: Are you related to any holocaust survivors?
SHULEM: Yes. I grew up and did not know any of my grandparents. I grew having only one grandfather who survived the holocaust, but he passed away when I was just a few months old. So, whenever I meet any holocaust survivors it’s as if I meet my own grandparents and family because they all lost their entire families and it’s sad and it’s something that should be known. If it weren’t for the people that got involved, I maybe wouldn’t have been here. So, for every life saved is exactly like what’s said. It’s a world. Generations come out from that.
MICHELLE: What do you hope people will take away from watching this movie?
SHULEM: What I hope people will see is that sometimes it’s good to be quiet but sometimes when there are things going on in the world, you cannot stay quiet. You have to stick up for what’s right and stand up and do something. And this is what Manuel Quezon did as most of the world was staying quiet and not really acknowledging what was really happening and he said no, I cannot see this and I gotta do what I can do - whatever I can. And I think this should be the message. You think sometimes that you can’t do or who are you or what are you to do anything, but one act from one person could be something very big.
