By Anjo Pallasigui
It was the kind of Toronto summer evening you wish you could bottle. Warm breeze, golden hour light, and music echoing off cobblestone streets. But for many of us there, it wasn’t just another weekend—it was a first.
For the first time in its 14-year history, the Italian Contemporary Film Festival opened its stage to the Filipino community. And we showed up.
The night kicked off with a four-hour showcase of Filipino music—live OPM in the middle of the Distillery District. It was surreal. People passing by stopped. Others stayed. Filipinos, young and old, filled the square. Even Rachel Alejandro said she hadn’t seen that many kababayans in that area before.
And then came the screening of Song of the Fireflies, a film about the Loboc Children’s Choir. Rachel stars in it, but more than that, she co-produced it with a small but mighty team that includes Girlie Rodis and Celeste Legaspi. Their goal? To bring Filipino stories—real, heart-first, culture-rich stories—to the world.
Rachel spoke honestly about how hard that is to do. There are no big celebrities in the cast. It’s not built for box office hype. But it’s built with purpose. It’s built for those of us who know the power of a good story, a familiar melody, and a moment that makes us feel seen.
By the time the credits rolled, the night didn’t feel like a one-off. It felt like a beginning.
A beginning of more space for Filipino stories.
A reminder that we’ve always belonged on the world stage.
And proof that when we come together, we light up the city.
