Attendees of Dekada ’70 screening at GSIS Theater
Bringing the best of filmmaking closer to every Filipino, the Cultural Center of the Philippines-Film, Broadcast, and New Media Division (CCP-FBNMD) screened Dekada ‘70 for free on September 19, 2024, at the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) Theatre. This screening serves as a tribute to iconic films made by our very own Filipino artists as we celebrate the Philippine Film Industry Month.
Dekada ‘70 is an award-winning novel written by Lualhati Bautista in 1983, later adapted into a film in 2002 under the direction of Chito S. Roño.
A talkback session moderated by JV Ibesate featured panelist Dante Bautista, the younger brother of Lualhati, along with Prof. Augusto Aguila, a professor in creative writing at the University of Santo Tomas, and Mae Caralde, Division Chief of CCP-FBNMD, followed the screening. Together with the audience, they emphasized the importance of films like this in the national narrative at large.
Talkback session moderated by JV Ibesate featuring panelists Dante Bautista, Prof. Augusto Aguila, and Mae Caralde
The audience was wiping tears by the end of the screening, but it wasn’t simply out of pain. At the heart of this weeping was also a newly found hope for writers and filmmakers. As one of the audience fervently shared, he looks forward to a budding generation of Lualhati Bautistas championing their own stories.
Bautista is a recipient of the Gawad CCP Para sa Sining 2020 award for Literature. She is one of the foremost Filipino female novelists in the history of contemporary Philippine literature. Her major works include books such as Dekada ’70, Bata, Bata, Pa’no Ka Ginawa?, ‘GAPÔ, Desaparesidos, Bulaklak sa City Jail, Hinugot sa Tadyang, and Sonata. A winner of the Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards (1980, 1982, 1983 and 1984), she became a National Fellow for Fiction of the University of the Philippines Creative Writing Center in 1986. Bautista also served as vice-president of the Screenwriters Guild of the Philippines and as chair of the Kapisanan ng mga Manunulat ng Nobelang Popular.
From Lualhati’s feminist commitment to documenting history, to Star for All Seasons Vilma Santos’ advocacy for the revival of Philippine cinema culture, Dekada ‘70 endures as a poignant reminder of the industry’s years-worth of significant contribution to the Filipino consciousness.
The CCP Lakbay Sine program also visited the University of Sto. Tomas (UST) for a screening and talkback session of ML, written, co-produced, and directed by Benedict Mique Jr. Meanwhile, the next edition of CCP Arthouse Cinema will feature Alipato at Muog on September 27 at the Yuchengco Museum.
