SEOUL, 13 June 2016 ? In celebration of the 155th birthday of national hero Dr. Jose Rizal, Sentro Rizal Seoul, which is housed in the Philippine Embassy in Yongsan-gu, cordially invites the public to watch the screening of the 1998 biographical film entitled 밓ose Rizal� at Rizal Hall, 2nd floor, Embassy Chancery, on Sunday, 19 June 2016 at 3:00 pm.

The film, which will be in Tagalog, English, Spanish and German with English subtitles, is directed by the late Marilou Diaz-Abaya and starring Cesar Montano as Jose Rizal. At the time of its release, it was the most expensive film in the history of Philippine cinema with a budget of over PHP80 million. The film was an official entry to the 1998 Metro Manila Film Festival.

Jose Protacio Rizal Mercado y Alonso Realonda was born on Wednesday, 19th of June 1861 as the seventh out of 11 children to Chinese-Filipino mestizo Francisco Mercado and Teodora Alonso in the town of Calamba in Laguna province.

In his early years the young Jose used Mercado, which means 뱈arket� in Spanish, a surname suggesting his family뭩 merchant roots that was chosen by his ancestors from Fujian, China to steer clear of popular anti-Chinese hostility under Spanish colonial rule in the 1730s.

He later switched to Rizal, a unique surname not found in the name catalogue issued by Governor-General Narciso Claveria in 1849, which was chosen by his paternal grandfather Juan after their original application for the name Ricial (meaning 뱓he green of young growth� or 밽reen fields�) was rejected by Spanish authorities.

The name enabled Jose to move about freely without being associated with his elder brother Paciano, who had gained notoriety by supporting the cause of revolutionary Filipino priests Mariano Gomez, Jose Burgos and Jacinto Zamora.

Admission to the public is free. However, because of the limited seating capacity, please be informed that accommodation inside Rizal Hall will be on a first-come, first-served basis.

This activity also serves as a prelude to the Embassy뭩 program Lingguhang Pelikula sa Sentro Rizal Seoul, which will feature critically acclaimed Filipino films every other Sunday starting on 3 July 2016 throughout summer. All film screenings will be at the Rizal Hall located at the 2nd floor of the Embassy chancery.
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