Lamberto Avellana’s ‘Portrait’ to be restored

The Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP) has agreed to cofinance the restoration of the 1965 film “A Portrait of the Artist as Filipino” directed by National Artist for Theater and Film Lamberto V. Avellana, FDCP chair Briccio Santos announced recently.

On the heels of last year’s restoration of Lino Brocka’s “Maynila sa mga Kuko ng Liwanag,” FDCP teamed up with award-winning director-cinematographer Mike de Leon to digitally restore “A Portrait of the Artist as Filipino.”

De Leon’s father, Manuel de Leon, served as producer of the classic film.

In a statement sent to the Inquirer, FDCP said it was commissioning L’Immagine Ritrovata for the restoration. This will be the third project under the Italy-based film laboratory, which also worked on “Maynila” and Manuel Conde’s “Genghis Khan” in 2012.

Santos signed a contract with De Leon on May 8.

“It is historic … Never before has there been a joint restoration undertaking between the private and public sectors,” the FDCP statement said.

“A Portrait of the Artist as Filipino,” an adaptation of the 1950 play by National Artist for Literature Nick Joaquin, marks its 50th anniversary in 2015.

The film version, released in 1965, top bills Avellana’s wife, Daisy Hontiveros-Avellana (National Artist for Theater), in the role of Candida and Naty Crame Rogers as Paula.

Meanwhile, “Maynila sa mga Kuko ng Liwanag,” originally released in 1975, won the best archive restoration honor at the 11th FOCAL (Federation of Commercial Audiovisual Libraries) International Awards in London.

The digitally restored “Maynila” has been making the rounds of international film fests since 2013, most notably in last year’s Cannes Film Festival in France.

In a statement, Santos said FDCP was “honored by this latest recognition for a film of great significance to Filipinos. This affirms FDCP’s efforts to pursue the preservation and restoration of the country’s cinema classics.”