All Nurse Cast Intoduced: SIGLO NG KALINGA (The Life of Anastacia Giron Tupas)

Last month, a call for auditions was announced by the production and the Philippine Nurses Association for the film "SIGLO NG KALINGA". This is about the life of Anastacia Giron Tupas set in three acts. In an unconventional move, they wanted to have the cast to be all NURSES. This weekend, they just announced an ensemble cast who would tell the story of the honorable lady.

Dr. Carl Balita was right. If you think about it, casting nurses in the film would entail training them because not all are professional actors. He believes in them that much, with their talent, and proved he could find the right people for the project. With the help of Archie Del Mundo who wrote and is line producing this film, they presented these individuals to the press last week.

Now it can be told, the cast includes Abbey Romero, Denmark Mismanos, Jewell Alano, Lorrich Del Tantoco, Joel Rey Carcasano, Jerico Roque, Dre Canaria, Bambi Rojas, VJ Mendoza, Tads Obach, Ms. Irma Bustamante and Ms. Lydia Palaypay. The title role of Anna Formantes went to Joy Ras who also was extremely emotional that afternoon. She mentions "Nurses are like actors too, we do our jobs everyday and try not to show much emotions especially when we get affected when someone dies, we feel and remember patients when that happens. Our jobs as nurses in a way equate to acting experience."

VJ Mendoza will play Alfred in the film.

 

VJ Mendoza adds "When I saw how they worked in the workshops we had, I saw how intelligent they were picking up advanced acting methods being taught to us by Ms. Angeli Bayani. They follow instructions very well. Imagine, I have been doing acting projects for many years, and they are at par with what I could do!"

To tell you honestly, the line of questions asked by the press was a bit worrisome as it questioned the lack of experienced actors in the list. Dr. Carl Balita took time to explain their goal of giving the roles to equally talented Nurses that would fit what they need to do in the film and how they were able to see what huge potential lies with the new cast. All of them were also eager to showcase the lives of unsung heroes, who got recognized about their work especially during the pandemic. This is a dream for most of them, and being a part of a movement to tell the story of Anastacia Giron Tupas was truly an honor they wouldn't want to pass on.  As Dr. Carl says "They have what it takes to perform the role (the actors that we chose), this is for the love of the nurses whom I want to put on the spot!" and we certainly couldn't agree more.

 

Joy Ras and Tads Obach will play Anna Formantes and Tony, a couple

Aside from the cast, Dr. Carl Balita also told us that he's working on several nurse actors like Rocco Nacino, Kuh Ledesma, Princess Punzalan, Carol Banawa and other artists to become a part of this film (or cameo roles) once the ball starts rolling. The piece will be shown mid next year and they are still finalizing some of the details. I could feel they too were so excited about the possibility of the actors surprising us all with their performances in this project, which they would rather want to do once it shows on theaters.

A lot of people are already eager to see what Director Lemuel Lorca has up his sleeves as this will be part of the award winning work he's already done in the past few years. They have intentions of putting this into international film festivals, and I wouldn't be surprised if it picks up a laurel or more when showcased abroad. 

From what I see, Dr. Carl Balita and the Philippine Nurses Association already has a gem in their hand. If the accolades come and the viewing public gets to see this film, they deserve every bit of praise they would get from SIGLO NG KALINGA. 

Congratulations to everyone who's making this dream a reality!

Turning NURSES to MOVIESTARS: "SIGLO NG KALINGA" on PNA's Centennial Celebration

Just got off the MOA signing of "SIGLO NG KALINGA" at the Philippine Nurses Association grounds this evening in Benitez Street in Manila. It was officiated by PNA officials, executives of Dr. Carl Balita Productions (CBP), Director Lemuel Lorca and nurses from around the country. This evening was all about the life of Anastacia Giron Tupas (AGT), the founder of PNA and how they are making headway in producing the film showcasing the dedication, service, passion and professionalism of Filipino nurses worldwide.

Governor Melvin Miranda, the current President of the Philippine Nurses Association says "Thank you to our past Presidents, and to regional leaders present here this evening. When Dr. Balita threw in the idea of doing a film, we were looking on how the life of AGT will be appreciated. Anastacia and her legacy in PNA is inspiring, at this day, we can inspire more Filipino nurses and connect to generations of them, and I'm glad they appreciate our endeavor to hopefully be learned from grassroots level; especially to nurses, and learn our mission and core values. We appreciate the partnership, thank you!"

Dr. Carl Balita also announced that national artist for film RICKY LEE as consultant for the film. For this project, he wants to put together the best of the best in Philippine cinema. He says "I am also considering Rocco Nacino, Kuh Ledesma, Princess Punzalan, Carol Banawa, different artists who are real nurses, and let them do cameos so we can concentrate on nurses we will get in the casting call. Angeli Bayani will be conducting workshops, as she's an internationally acclaimed actress. In other words, I want our nurses to be involved, also in the poster making and theme song writing contest. I believe we have very talented nurses, and we might ask Kuh Ledesma to help us in singing the song. The film will be seen on May 2023, and target international film festivals and I promise you we will have them in different festivals like Sundance, Toronto, and major film festivals. This is the best film I will ever produce, and I'm challenging everyone involved to do their best as well.

Dr. Carl Balita adds "I want this to be a legacy film to be watched by the public so they would understand the heroism involved in our line of work. We need to communicate the call for the cast, we need them to be part of the film. All of whom need to be nurses."

They are doing a casting call specific for nurses 20-60yo, registered who would be available for a shoot (2 weeks straight) with a 5 day acting workshop on October 12-20 from 10am to 12pm and 1-4pm on zoom. They will also be doing a Theme Song and Poster Making contest for the film depicting the work of Filipinos worldwide and the life of Anastacia Giron Tupas, the founder of PNA. You may send entries before November 26, 2022, you may email drcarlbalitaproductions@gmail.com for more details. This is also in celebration of PNA's Centennial Anniversary, a historic and momentous occasion.

If you're a nurse and want to be part of this, you know what to do!

The Plight of Health Professionals

There are thousands of health professionals in our country that go out and spend most of their career in the United Kingdom, EU, the Middle East, Asia Pacific or North American regions. The standards of our health workers are quite high and have been regarded as the best in the industry. The continued evolution of our educational system and health specific trainings are lagging behind more advanced countries. It's but right that we do something about it so we can still manage to attain the high standards the recipients need for their health care. What's great is that this is available in the UK and a medical management course is perfect for those who want to further advance their studies in this field. It's also one of the great things they can do while practicing their profession. They can do this on the side without sacrificing work related matters because they can get the courses that are apt for them. Doctors for example can get a medical teaching course in order to pursue doing this in universities. This would hasten them to have a career in educating future nurses, medical technologists, doctors or medical workers.

It's so nice to see that we are making a mark in the United Kingdom and nearby countries. I love it when most managers treat Filipino workers twice as efficient as their regular counterparts. Later on in their careers, they can probably just get a consultant interview course and have a managerial post rather than spend too much time in operations. It's like any job; it's giving them what they worked for. If they go back to the Philippines maybe they can teach the new generation of health workers and do the same thing. They learn now then impart what they have learned to generations of health professionals later on. If we get some teach the teacher course in the future we would make this noble task viable to anyone who wishes to be a doctor someday. Do you have relatives who work in the UK health industry? Did they get more courses when they arrived there? What made them different from other professionals who didn't study further? Let me know!