Produced and distributed by Star Cinema, it was theatrically released on June 27, 2001, as part of the film studio's 8th anniversary offering.[1]
Plot
Set during the administration of Corazon C. Aquino, Mila Cabangon is a public school teacher who deeply loves and cares for her students despite living with her abusive and good-for-nothing husband whom she later leaves him. One day, she and her fellow teachers went on strike after attending a meeting of the teachers' group.
The film was based on the life of Anita Pamintuan, a public elementary school teacher who died in 1990 following her involvement in a hunger strike organized by teachers' groups.[1] Ricky Lee, who previously collaborated with director Joel Lamangan in films including Himala (1982), Pangako ng Kahapon (1994), and The Flor Contemplacion Story (1995), conducted research about her after he was lingered from seeing a photo of her lifeless body at a newspaper and eventually, made into a screenplay.[2] Lee originally pitched the screenplay to various film producers in 1992 and Nora Aunor considering for the role but it never realized.[2] Finally, after years of being part of Lee's unproduced works, Star Cinema, which received box-office successes in the past year, gave a green light to the project.[2]
MTRCB rating controversy
Despite the film having no "adult-aimed" themes, it was almost given an R-18 rating by the MTRCB due to the two uses of severe profane words uttered by the characters of Maricel Soriano and Cherry Pie Picache. Joel Lamangan, the film's director, criticized the censor board and blamed them as the "destroyer of the Philippine film industry" after MTRCB chair Anding Roces gave the said rating to the film. The censor board finally gave the film a PG-13 rating instead of R-18 to settle the issue.[3]
Marketing
As part of the film's release, Star Cinema launched a nationwide essay-writing contest named "Sino ang Mila sa Buhay Ko – The Greatest Teacher In My Life", where participants would create an essay about their Mila on their lives. The panelists for the contest were the film's screenwriter Ricky Lee; singer and youth role model Cris Villonco; Etta Rosales, the representative of Akbayan party-list; Benilda Santos, the chairperson of Ateneo de Manila University - Filipino Department; and Tammy Bejerano, the senior creative manager of the film studio.[4]
Release
The film was first premiered in the Philippines on June 26, 2001, at SM Megamall and a general release on the following day.[5] It had a Philippine television premiere on Cinema One and a world premiere on Cinemax.
