BY NESTOR CUARTERO
JUST A THOUGHT: “All of life’s riddles are answered in movies.” – Steve Martin
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ABS-CBN LEGACY: Hope the closure of ABS-CBN will not end our quest to restore good, old Filipino movies.
The network’s Sagip-Pelikula effort has seen the restoration of 185 films throughout its 9-year run, starting in 2011.
Among the film classics that ABS-CBN has restored and fully digitalized are Ishmael Bernal’s “Himala,” Peque Gallaga’s “Oro Plata Mata,” Mario O’Hara’s “Tatlong Taong Walang Diyos,” Eddie Romero’s “Ganito Kami Noon…Paano Kayo Ngayon?,” Laurice Guillen’s “Salome,” Lino Brocka’s “Tinimbang Ka Ngunit Kulang.”
The oldest movie restored by ABS-CBN is “Ibong Adarna” (1941), by Vicente Salumbides.
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PRESERVING FILMS: Good to hear that the Philippine Film Archive (PFA), a division of the Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP), continues to protect our national film heritage.
The PFA has already restored nine titles and is currently restoring two films.
Two of its recent acquisitions, courtesy of the UP Film Institute, are “Noli Me Tangere” (1961), in original print, by Gerardo de Leon and “Bayan Ko: Kapit sa Patalim” (1984) by Lino Brocka.
Both de Leon and Brocka are National Artists for Film.
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UP COLLECTION: The UPFI in 2019 turned over to PFA 1,024 film reels for archiving, scanning, digitization, and possible restoration.
Restoration of films through digital technology is expensive. Leo Katigbak, head of ABS-CBN’s film restoration division, estimates the cost from one million to 10 million pesos per movie.
FDCP chair Liza Dino says there are even Russian titles in the acquired collection from UP.
From April to June 2020, the PFA completed rewinding, transfer, and inventory of the films.
Plans for the UPFI gems include digitizing, migrating them to a new medium, and generating access copies for the public.
