Director Paul Soriano Thanks Manny Pacquiao For Trusting Him To Make A Movie About His Boyhood, 'Kid Kulafu'

DIRECTOR PAUL SORIANO considers it a big honor to be allowed by Manny Pacquiao himself to do a film on how he started as a poor boy in Mindanao and worked his way up to be one of the greatest boxers of our time. “He has brought so much honor to our country,” he says. “This young boy who grew up in Sarangani, in GenSan, in Bukidnon, is able to influence not just the Philippines but the world. On May 3, here in the Philippines, the world will stop as we watch our hero Manny Pacquiao carry our flag proudly in his fight against Mayweather. You know, win or lose, he’s got my support and I believe, eve­ry Filipino. With or without Floyd Mayweather Jr., Manny will go down as one of the best boxers in boxing history. He’s gonna be in the Hall of Fame. You cannot take away his eight world division titles. For me, of course, I can be biased but what Manny does is he unites our nation. Where can a 100 million people come together for an hour and just be at peace?”

He just came from L.A. to get a video message from Pacman endorsing “Kid Kulafu”. “He himself is our consultant as we shoot this movie,” he adds. “He becomes emotional each time he looks back at all the hardships he experienced as a child. The film is very inspirational. It shows that we can all have our dreams in life and it’s up to us to make them a reality. Ang daming pagsubok na dinaanan niya, pero nilabanan niya lahat yun to make him what he is now. I’m very thankful that he gave me his trust to do this movie. We filmed in some actual locations in GenSan and Sarangani.”

He will face the altar with GF of 8 years, Toni Gonzaga, on June 12. Do they have time to attend to their wedding requirements considering how busy they are?“We’re both very excited as it’s a new chapter in our life kasi forever na ‘yan. But yes, Toni has been very busy shooting ‘You’re My Boss’ with Coco Martin and I’ve been very busy with ‘Kid Kulafu’. She’s now doing a show in Australia so we can really sit down and plan our wedding is when she comes back. Nagpe-prepare naman siya. I know she chose a dress already. But me, I haven’t picked up a suit yet. I’llo attend to that after ‘Kid Kulafu’ has been shown. I’m really thankful to Star Cinema for helping us release the movie.”

Former child actor Buboy Villar plays the young Manny, Alessandra de Rossi is Mommy Dionisia, Alex Medina is Pacquiao’s dad, Cesar Montano is his uncle who first saw his potential as a boxer, Kahlil Ramos and Igi Boy Flores. The movie opens in theatres next Wednesday, April 15.