ABS-CBN Philharmonic Orchestra, together with the Ateneo Chamber Singers, earned a well-deserved standing ovation at The Theatre at Solaire in Pasay for their live performance of the musical score of Ignacio de Loyola, the first ever Filipino-produced movie filmed in Rome.
Ryan Cayabyab composed the score and performed under the baton of Gerard Salonga.
The performance left the audience in awe as it magnified the emotions in every scene. The audience surely remembered the epic battle in Spain where Ignacio was horribly hit by a cannonball, the romantic dance of Catalina and Ignacio at the palace, Ignacio’s spiritual transformation in the cave, and when truth prevailed and made Ignacio victorious in his trial against the church.
The premiere of Ignacio de Loyola was organized by the alumni of Ateneo de Manila University for the benefit of the Jesuit Infirmary and Jesuit Scholastics in the Philippines.
The film takes a modern approach on the story of the very first Jesuit who is known as the “Saint of Second Chances.” It narrates the story of a sinner who realizes that the greatest battles are fought within — the choice between violence and mercy, anger and forgiveness, hope and despair, darkness and light. Ignacio was a worldly soldier who gave up his dreams of knighthood after being crippled in battle. Eventually, he found the Jesuit order during his recovery.
The Cinema Evaluation Board Ignacio de Loyola gave the film a grade A. It is an ambitious project produced by Filipino filmmakers with a European cast and crew. The scope of the film meant shooting the biopic almost entirely in Spain, Ignacio’s native country, for about two months. It stars a Spanish-speaking cast led by Andreas Muñoz, who portrayed the “sinner soldier-turned-Soldier of Christ.”