After its international premiere at the 16th Lumière Film Festival in Lyon, France last year, National Artist for Film Lino Brocka’s neo-noir crime classic, “Jaguar” (restored) comes back home to the Philippines to open the 7th Sinag Maynila Independent Film Festival.
The festival will also screen the digitally restored 1978 film ‘Atsay’ starring National Artist for Film Nora Aunor.
With opening ceremonies set on September 23 at Gateway Cinema 5, this will be the Asian premiere of the film’s 4K restored version, thanks to the collaborative efforts of FDCP’s Philippine Film Archive (PFA) division and Cité de Mémoire.
Released in 1979, “Jaguar” made history as the first Filipino film to be nominated for Palme d’Or at the 1980 Cannes Film Festival. It tells the story of Poldo, a security guard who becomes entangled in crime while protecting a wealthy playboy, confronting moral dilemmas and tragic consequences amid class disparity and the destructive pursuit of fame.
Phillip Salvador in the classic ‘Jaguar,’ the first Filipino film to be nominated for Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival. PHOTOS FROM SINAG MAYNILA
Inspired by a news story from the book “Reportage on Crime” by National Artist for Literature Nick Joaquin, “Jaguar” is written by Jose Lacaba and National Artist for Film Ricky Lee. It stars award-winning actors Phillip Salvador and Amy Austria.
Sinag Maynila celebrates the Philippine Film Industry Month by featuring the restored works of National Artists as part of the festival’s “Pambansang Alagad ng Sining” section, to be screened in select Metro Manila cinemas together with the competing films.
This section will also include the digitally restored 1978 film “Atsay,” directed by Eddie Garcia, starring National Artist for Film Nora Aunor. The film was restored in 2022 through the efforts of FDCP’s Film Restoration program spearheaded by its Philippine Film Archive (PFA) division.
“We thank the Film Development Council of the Philippines for their effort to restore and preserve these masterpieces which allows movie goers to see these films in all their splendor and glory, as it was meant to be seen,” Sinag Maynila founder Wilson Tieng said.
The by-invitation screening event is co-presented by the Philippine Film Archive (PFA), Society of Filipino Archivists for Film (SOFIA), Solar Pictures, and Gateway Cineplex.
