Filipinos in Mexico see Fil-Am’s award-winning ‘Curiosity, Adventure and Love’

Sunshine Lichauco de Leon’s film was screened at the US Embassy in Mexico City. WEBSITE

MEXICO CITY — Filipinos in Mexico attended the screening of the award-winning Philippine documentary film “Curiosity, Adventure and Love” at the Benjamin Franklin Library of the U.S. Embassy on June 28.

Filipino American co-writer and director of the documentary Sunshine Lichauco de Leon, granddaughter of the lead character of the film, attended the event. Lichauco is a freelance journalist in the Philippines and the U.S who works as a local producer for foreign documentary film projects.

The film revolves around an American woman, Mrs. Jessie Lichauco, who traveled to the Philippines at 18 in the 1930s, married a Filipino, and witnessed the country go through great transitions, as a flourishing American colony, through the Japanese occupation of World War II, Philippine Independence and the country´s evolution into a modern democracy.

The film provided insights on a woman whose kindness and strong will to help her compatriots earned her the respect and admiration of the people around her.

The director hopes that the film will encourage Filipinos to learn more about Philippine history and inspire people to be more compassionate to each other in order to live a genuinely meaningful life.

The audience, composed mostly of Filipinos, Mexicans and Americans, praised the film and especially the character of Mrs. Jessie Lichauco for demonstrating the uplifting values of humanity and love.

The documentary has won, among others, the following awards:  Best Documentary Feature at the New York Los Angeles International Film Festival (NYLA); Best Documentary Feature for April 2017 at the Los Angeles Independent Film Festival (LAIFFA); and Excellence Award for the Categories of Human Spirit and Biography and Exceptional Merit for sub-categories of Viewer Impact Motivational/Inspirational and Editing at the Docs Without Borders Film Festival (DWBFF).