From Shireen Seno:

Children of the King:
Open call for Elvis impersonators and their children in Manila

We are currently looking for Elvis impersonators and their kids, age 10 and up, to interview in Manila this coming January 29 - February 13, 2010.

Children of the King is a documentary by Canadian artist/director Stephanie Comilang that aims to connect myself with other children of Elvis impersonators in the hopes of finding some common ground despite cultural differences. My father is from Baguio and immigrated to Toronto where we now live, so coming to the Philippines and searching out Elvis impersonators there will be an integral part of the film.

About the Project

Children of the King aims to connect myself with other children of Elvis impersonators. The title 'Children of the King' has been an ongoing project with and about my Filipino Elvis impersonator father. It began as a self-published magazine which included photos of childhood and short stories of the embarrassment of friends interacting with my father dressed as Elvis. I have made and collected over the past 10 years everything from silk-screened posters for a fake film starring my dad, T-shirts with my dad’s face, video documentation of performances at weddings, parties, and clubs, a short documentary about the Elvis Collingwood festival my dad participated in in 2005. The ephemera collected is all related to Children of the King, which began as a way to reach out to other children of Elvis impersonators as a way to understand this strange phenomena. With the documentary, I’d like to again try to connect to these people on an international level, focusing on countries like the Philippines, that have been colonized or closely aligned, culturally with America and see where or if the connections and commonalities exist.

Here is a link to a short video I made with my father:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AhRQI9fauEs&feature=player_profilepage

I will be in Manila this coming January 29 to February 13, 2010 conducting interviews. We are currently looking for Elvis impersonators and their kids, age 10 and up. Any info regarding Elvises in Manila would be greatly appreciated.

Please contact the director at: stephaniecomilang@gmail.com

About the Artist

Stephanie Comilang is an artist and filmmaker working in Toronto, Canada. She has made music videos for musicians Final Fantasy and Junior Boys as well as directed documentaries with art atelier Mammalian Diving Reflex. She has toured and shown work in Europe and North America and most recently performed at the 2009 Venice Biennale.