El Presidente

El Presidente (2012)

The film begins with his capture by Philippine and US forces under Frederick Funston's command in 1901, then flashes back to 1886, when an old woman gives Aguinaldo and his childhood friend Candido Tirona cryptic prophecies. Ten years later, Aguinaldo is inducted into the Katipunan and later assumes leadership of its Cavite chapter while becoming mayor of Cavite El Viejo. When the trouble breaks out in Manila in late August 1896, Aguinaldo tries to assure the Spanish provincial government of non-interference and covertly marshals his forces despite a lack of weapons. Learning that the Spanish mostly put their forces in Manila, Aguinaldo finally mobilizes his troops and take the command of the Katipunan forces in Cavite

Date of release
2012-12-25
TMDB
6.5 / 10 (3)
Runtime
2h 45m
Genres
Action, War, Drama, History
Director
Mark Meily

Casting

Interesting facts

El Presidente: The Story of Emilio Aguinaldo and the First Philippine Republic, or simply El Presidente, is a 2012 Filipino biographical historical drama film written and directed by Mark Meily about the life of General Emilio Aguinaldo, the first president of the Philippine Republic. The film stars Jeorge "E.R." Ejercito Estregan in the title role, along with Nora Aunor, Christopher de Leon, Cristine Reyes, and Cesar Montano.

Development

A 350-page script emerged in 1998, with the proposed film meant for the Philippines' Independence Centennial, but no production was made.

Ejercito said Meily was chosen to direct the film due to his knowledge of Aguinaldo, experience in large productions, and personal belief in him. Meily's appointment was made despite swearing never to helm a historical film again, after working on Baler in 2008. Ejercito's second choice for director was Mario O'Hara; the latter died before Ejercito made him an offer, on June 26, 2012.

Despite the existence of the 1998 script, Meily opted to create an entirely different script instead. He wanted to hire screenwriters at Ejercito's request, but volunteered to write it himself when no writers joined the project. Meily claims he tried to make the film as factually accurate as possible, and he describes the finished product as "95 percent" accurate to what really happened. Historians were on set to ensure full accuracy.

Ejercito described the film as much harder to make than Manila Kingpin because it "deals directly with our country's history." Over 50 professional actors and actresses were cast for the movie. He also described the "set, costumes, locations, and logistics" as "staggering by all Philippine cinema standards." He also claimed that it was the biggest and most expensive Filipino film ever, as the film was made on a budget of ₱130 million.

Read on Wikipedia · Text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Data from Wikidata.

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