September 2018 marks the 46th year since the declaration of Martial Law by the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos. To commemorate one of the darkest period in Philippine history, the alternative movie house in Quezon City, Cinema Centenario in cooperation with the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) launches the month-long Never Forget Film Festival or NFFF which will feature films that tackle the events of Martial Law.
Opening the NFFF on September 1, Saturday, 7:30PM is the restored and remastered version of Chito Rono’s Eskapo (1995). The film is about the escape of political scions Sergio Osmena III and Eugenio Lopez, Jr. in 1977 from their maximum-security prison cell in Fort Bonifacio. Richard Gomez and Christopher de Leon play the real-life characters respectively.
Other films included in the NFFF are Kanakan Balintagos’ Esprit de Corps (2014), Teng Mangansakan’s Forbidden Memory (2016), Sari Lluch Dalena’s Ka Oryang (2011), a trilogy from Lav Diaz; Batang West Side (2001), Mula sa Kung Ano ang Noon (2014) and his latest, the Martial Law musical Ang Panahon ng Halimaw (2018), Juna Lana’s Barber’s Tales (2013), two restored and remastered classic films made during the Martial Law era – Lino Brocka’s Insiang (1976) and Marilou Diaz-Abaya’s Moral (1982).
Films that relate the violence of the Marcos’ dictatorship to the current socio-political landscape of the country; Treb Monteras II’s Respeto (2017), Jon Red’s Ginoong Maria (2018), Adolfo Alix, Jr.’s Madilim ang Gabi (2018) and Mike de Leon’s Citizen Jake (2018). The NFFF will also screen documentaries Ala-ala: The Bonifacio Ilagan Story by Adolfo Alix, Jr starring Alden Richards and Multo ng Nakaraan by Howie Severino, the docu about the Manila Film Center, both from GMA News and Public Affairs. Portraits of Mosquito Press by JL Burgos and Signos by Mike de Leon are also included in the line-up. The short films Ang Mga Alingawngaw sa Panahon ng Pagpapasya by Hector Barretto Calma and Maliw by Rob Jara will also play during the NFFF.
Closing the NFFF is Arnel Barbarona’s Tu Pug Imatuy (The Right to Kill) who won the FAMAS and Urian Best Director Awards for his film about a Lumad family caught in the crossfire between military and rebel soldiers.
Here’s the schedule of the first week of September:
You can watch the Video Coverage of the press conference courtesy of Cinema Regla here: