In a bid to reintroduce Manila as a romantic dating site, the Manila Tourism and Cultural Affairs Bureau tries to touch the hearts of Manileños through a short Valentine’s Day film, featuring some of the famous landmarks in the capital city.
MTCAB chief Liz Villaseñor said the five-minute video, entitled “Sunset,” celebrates love and hope amid the devastation and pain of betrayal.
“In our short film, we have showcased some of the popular tourist spots in Manila, once dubbed as the ‘Paris of Asia’ to show the world that Manila can be a perfect romantic getaway. This is what Mayor [Joseph] Estrada envisions,” Villaseñor said.
Villaseñor portrayed the female lead actor, while Manila third district Rep. Yul Servo, also an actor, played her new love interest.
The film was shot in several locations—Manila City Hall, Andres Bonifacio Shrine, Intramuros, Manila Cathedral, Plaza Mexico, Luneta Park, and Roxas Boulevard Baywalk.
The short film was to be shown in the grand Valentine’s Day event dubbed “Baywalk Manila: A Night to Remember” organized by the city government along Roxas Boulevard’s Baywalk fronting Raja Sulayman Park.
The film has also been uploaded to the Facebook page “Eraptions” per the MTCAB chief.
Estrada, Villaseñor said, wants Manila to be comparable to famous romantic cities in the world such as Paris, Florence, Prague, and Sydney.
Since assuming office in 2013, Estrada has embarked on a multimillion-peso Urban Renewal Program aimed at giving the entire city a major facelift.
The mayor said he hopes the Valentine’s Day presentation of MTCAB will pique the interests of local and foreign tourists to the City of Manila.
“We congratulate our city tourism for this wonderful media campaign. We will continue finding ways to rehabilitate Manila and attract more tourists and investors. We are close to achieving our goal of bringing back Manila’s old glory,” he pointed out.
“Sunset” tells the story of a bride-to-be who caught her groom cheating on the very day of their wedding right at the church they were supposed to be wed. She ran away, brokenhearted, but soon met another man and moved on.
Estrada led Tuesday night’s Valentine’s Day program where he delivered his Valentine’s message to Manileños. He was accompanied by the ambassadors of 36 countries with which Manila has sister-city ties such as San Francisco, Moscow, and Beijing.
MTCAB led the event in cooperation with Manila Bay Creative Advertising Events.
The whole night event started at 4 p.m. with a repertoire from the Manila City Hall band, as well as cultural performances from the different schools of Manila.
Among the highlights were a special love drama skit; simultaneous releasing of 1,000 balloons, each bearing a Manileño’s love message to their loved ones; and Valentine’s dance of 1,000 pairs.
The highlight of the program was the launch of a video production entitled “Manila Water Bucket Challenge” featuring the challenge-invitation from the Rowers’ Club of the Philippines to the public to pour over their heads a bucket of water fetched from the Manila Bay.
