Lt. Col. Anastacio Campo’s diary is a revealing memoir of a Filipino officer stationed in Davao City at the outbreak of World War II. There are relatively few Filipino first-person accounts of the war and most of these are from Bataan or Manila. This account, set in Davao, opens a heretofore unknown vista for most Filipinos. Having been written at the time, it has an immediacy and personal flavor that are unique. Lt. Col. Campo’s diary is enriched with his granddaughter Maria Virginia Y. Morales’s comments and annotations that provide background information, which brings out his human side. An important addition to the Filipino memoirs of World War II, this book is a step toward making the Filipino war experience better understood as a truly nationwide experience.
Concerto, 2008: A Film by Paul Alexander Morales
Official entry to the 2008 Cinemalaya Film Festival
Concerto is about how, in the last part of World War II, a special piano concert is held in the forest outside Davao City, in Mindanao. In these boondocks, a displaced Filipino family becomes acquainted with a group of Japanese officers, similarly camped nearby. Family values are questioned as the family treads the thin line between enemy and friend with the occupying Japanese.
Preview ~ Synopsis ~ The Family ~ Japanese in Davao ~ War ~ Music
Paul Alexander Y. Morales: Filmmaker/Theater Director/Choreographer
Paul is the son of book writer and feminist Maria Virginia, and political activist Horacio. Paul’s interest in directing was honed at the University of the Philippines where he studied directing under the tutelage of Prof. Antonio Mabesa.
His involvements in the theater also led him to study dance, enabling him to become a member of Ballet Philippines II, the Transitions Dance Company (London), and the Philippine Ballet Theater as a dancer. His cinematic studies include; the 1998 Experimental Narrative workshop at MOWELFUND and short courses with Bing Lao (writing) and Johnny Manahan at ABS – CBN (directing).
He is a professional dancer, choreographer and noted theater director with 2 Best Director nominations from the Aliw Awards (2001 and 2003). He was the founder of the Dulaang Talyer and is presently Artistic Director of the award winning contemporary dance company Airdance, named Best Dance Group (Modern) in the 2007 Aliw Awards.
Aside from the films and videos he has directed, Paul has produced, choreographed and been assistant director to various alternative and mainstream film projects. More..