Everyone has a story and often times certain parts of that story are left untold. ?Manny? director Ryan Moore always knew there was something deeper to boxing champion Manny Pacquiao than just being one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world.
?Manny? made its Hawaii premiere last weekend at the second annual Filipino Film Festival at the Honolulu Museum of Arts? Doris Duke Theatre. And after meeting Moore at the Moana Surfrider, I learned more details about what makes this 90-minute film one of a kind.
?Manny? director Ryan Moore, left, with Manny Pacquiao.
Moore grew up with a knack for telling stories, but it wasn?t until he moved from California to the Philippines for high school did he really discover his ethnic roots. Roaming the streets where his mother grew up, Moore raised questions about his family?s upbringing, which initiated conversations of perseverance. He soon learned about the adverse periods of his family?s journey, like his maternal grandmother raising six children on her own and living off of a meager income of a sari-sari store (small mom-and-pop store) in hopes of putting Moore?s mother through school to become a nurse.
Living in the Philippines put everything into perspective for him. He knew he wanted to share stories of Filipino culture to help bridge disconnected subjects.
?No one ever talks about the difficult times and I think Filipinos for the most part, we tend to not to dwell on the hardships of our lives,? said Moore.
At this time of his self-discovery, Pacquiao had already put Filipino culture on a world stage and was the head of a positive movement by uniting Filipinos around the world. Moore believed his story really personified and embodied the Filipino struggle and even voiced his opinion of the boxer on his submission letter to the University of Southern California film school. Although he ended up in the business school at USC, that didn?t deter him from learning film production through trial and error.
MOORE MET PACQUIAO at a charity event in Los Angeles and knew it was a sign to make his dream a reality. The only eight-division world champion was so used to having strangers around him that Moore admitted building trust didn?t come easy. It took a while before Pacquiao let down his guard and realize Moore was genuine in wanting to capture the intimate moments of Pacquiao?s life. What was originally projected as 12-18 months of filming turned into five years.
?I couldn?t stop filming because his life was changing so much and I knew that if I stopped that I would miss out on it,? Moore said. ?I felt like if I didn?t do his story justice, then all of my work wouldn?t be right.?
A true labor of passion with no corporate financial backing, Moore created a family real estate business in order to support himself and pursue his creative direction.
?I was literally working 20-hour days at times,? he said. ?I would be working during the day then set out to film during the evening. I was also traveling internationally for months at a time so that I could be with Manny in the Philippines.?
It?s no secret Pacquiao is one of the most multi-dimensional athletes in the world. A champion boxer, elected government official, public spokesperson of faith, a family man and even an amateur singer, throughout the film Moore spotlights the humanitarian connection that makes Pacquiao so inspiring and relatable.
?Because of Manny I learned that in life, you?ll never know all the answers,? said Moore. ?Manny didn?t have a formal education, and he didn?t have a plan. He prayed and prayed and remained completely in tune with what he knew.
?I?ve kind of followed his same plan and for some reason felt that this is what I was compelled to do and I devoted myself to it.?
The film answers questions many have always wondered about, from the mismanagement of Pacquiao?s early boxing career to why it took so long to bring the long anticipated May 2 fight against Floyd Mayweather Jr. to fruition.
Even after the documentary was released in January, Moore still has cameras rolling until the fight in Las Vegas.
Moore said he has never seen Pacquiao so focused and he expects him to beat Mayweather. He said what sets Pacquiao apart is that he fights for more than just his personal glory; he fights for many other things, yet is humble about it.
?When people in their hearts are truly and emotional invested in someone ? they already won and that is what Pacquiao has done,? he said.
Narrated by Academy Award-nominated actor Liam Neeson and co-directed by Academy Award winner Leon Gast (?When We Were Kings?), viewers see exclusive home footage, interviews with celebrity personalities, in-depth commentary by various sports analysts and original music by Hollywood music producer Lorne Balfe.
After I watched this film, I?m not just proud to be Filipino ? I?m proud of who Pacquiao has become. There is always more than meets the eye and this documentary truly shows why many admire him so much and why his legacy will endure for years to come.
