A ‘falling in love’ (again) cinema experience

“Stupid me!” was my immediate reaction after watching “Insiang” in Cinematheque Theatre last Sept. 25.

I cursed myself and regretted the fact that Cinematheque Centre Manila has been operating for months now, but it was only on Sept. 25 when I decided to visit the film hub. Only then did I realize that I should have gone earlier to the event that week, instead of meeting some longtime friends whose idea of a reunion is nothing short of fascistic, if not barbaric.

Rubbing salt into the wound, I found out

later that the film center along Kalaw Avenue in Ermita had shown a number of Danish films, such as “The Hunt” and “Babette’s Feast”—two movies I’ve been dying to watch, during its inauguration back in January.

Nevertheless, it was all worth it. Mind you, for only P50, I got to watch Lino Brocka’s masterpiece, the first Filipino movie to be shown at the Cannes Film Festival, and saw an exhibit dedicated to the late National Artist at the Museo ng Pelikulang Pilipino, where you can also see statues and memorabilia of five other great Filipino directors: Jose Nepomuceno, Manuel Conde, Gerardo de Leon, Lamberto Avellana and Ishmael Bernal.

Under the theme “Lino Brocka: Citizen with a Camera,” the Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP), through Cinematheque, ran a week-long screening of the director’s classic films, which included a symposium, a film editing workshop and a martial law survivors’ talk. Brocka was among the prominent social activists who fought the Marcos regime and he was the founder of the Concerned Artists of the Philippines. Earlier this month, Pandayang Lino Brocka also held its annual film festival at the University of the Philippines, which was graced by FDCP chair Liza Diño, to pay tribute to the brave filmmaker.

Formerly occupied by Instituto Cervantes de  Manila, Cinematheque Centre Manila also houses the offices of the National Film Archives of the Philippines, the Film Asean Knowledge Management Center, the FDCP, the Cinematheque Café and a souvenir shop.

I have my own original DVD copy of “Insiang,” but I must admit that watching its restored version on the big screen, with other Philippine cinema lovers in a wonderful venue like Cinematheque Centre Manila, was a totally different experience: Falling in love with Hilda Koronel (again) just seemed inevitable.

—DANIEL ALOC,

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