Filipino regiments' story gets 7-day run
By Vicki Viotti
Advertiser Staff Writer
"An Untold Triumph," the award-winning documentary about the 1st and 2nd Filipino Infantry Regiments of World War II, begins a seven-day run at the Art House Theaters at Restaurant Row today.
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A reception, open to the public and free to ticket holders, will take place at 5 to 7 tonight at the theater. Filmmakers Noel "Sonny" Izon and Stephanie Castillo will attend the reception, as will Pearl City resident Domingo Los Banos, the regimental veteran who helped to organize the premiere.
Today through Thursday, The Art House at Restaurant Row will show "An Untold Triumph," a documentary about the 1st and 2nd Filipino Infantry Regiments during World War II.
The documentary is being prepared for broadcast next year on PBS and meanwhile, "An Untold Triumph" is being shown in screenings here and on the Mainland.
The 90-minute program, narrated by Lou Diamond Phillips, focuses on the vital role played by some 7,000 Filipino-Americans in World War II and in Gen. MacArthur's plan to retake the Philippines from the Japanese.
MacArthur had hundreds trained and deployed as spies, infiltrators, radiomen and coast watchers in undercover missions throughout the Philippine archipelago. Later, during his promised return to the Philippines, he assigned other men from the regiments as Alamo Scouts to free prisoners of war, as counter-intelligence officers to ferret out traitors and perform other duties.
• 1, 4, 7 and 9 p.m. through Thursday • The Art House at Restaurant Row • Matinee ticket prices of $5 apply for the first two showings each day and all day on Tuesday; admission to the 7 and 9 p.m. screenings every day but Tuesday is $7.75. • Web site
The film won the Hawai'i International Film Festival's Blockbuster Audience Award.
'An Untold Triumph'
Don Brown, programmer at the Art House, said he approached the producers after the HIFF premiere, adding that a theatrical release of the film would allow Izon and Castillo to submit it for Academy Award consideration.
"I saw it at the Blaisdell and thought it was terrific," he said. "I was very touched by the presentation."
The Art House also has an agreement with Sony to try out video projection equipment that allows for high-quality screenings of video productions, Brown added.
"I thought this was a terrific opportunity to use the equipment," he said. "And academy rules say to qualify to be nominated for an award, you have to have theatrical presentation."
