Restoring ‘Portrait,’ the work of 3 national artists
Lost soundtrack
“Although the original soundtrack was lost, I was able to reconstruct the soundtrack from two prints that were still in existence in 2005,” the director recalled. “During the digital restoration late last year, by pure luck, a print of the film was found at the Deutsche Kinemathek (German Cinematheque).”
A year ago, De Leon recalled meeting with Davide Pozzi, director of the L’Immagine Ritrovata. It was during the meeting that Marti Magsanoc, a NFAP consultant, raised the possibility of finding a print of “Portrait” in Europe.
Bono Olgado, former NFAP head, coordinated with the German Cinematheque to borrow a print of the film, the director added.
“Later, Davide confirmed that the sound in the German Cinematheque print was better than the duplicate I had done in 2005. Our system at LVN then was still a hybrid one, both analog and digital,” he said. “So the audio from the (German) print was used instead because it was a first generation print struck from the original sound negatives.”
De Leon recalled that “Portrait” was shown in Frankfurt, Germany, in 1967. “That could be the reason it wound up at the German Cinematheque,” he explained.
Jigsaw puzzle
Serendipitous circumstances aside, restoring films can be a tricky process similar to assembling a giant jigsaw puzzle, he said.
MEN BEHIND ‘PORTRAIT’ “A Portrait of the Artist as Filipino” Director Lamberto Avellana (center) confers with movie producer Manuel de Leon, while actor Tony Santos (leftmost) looks on. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO/Mike De Leon
“In restoring old films, we would sometimes find half a reel of a 16mm film [containing] one half of the movie, with the rest on tape. I would put them together, even rearrange sequences, because for some strange reason, we would find the scenes in the reels all jumbled up,” De Leon said.
Technology definitely helped, he said, adding that he took part in the “Portrait” restoration process at the L’Immagine Ritrovata by remote control.
Like in a previous restoration project, “Maynila sa mga Kuko ng Liwanag,” De Leon focused on the “grading” part of the process. Blu-ray discs were regularly sent from Bologna to Manila. “I would send back comments and corrections afterward,” he said.
De Leon likewise took charge of subtitling the film in Manila.
“I prepared all the subtitles here, with the help of (Lamberto’s daughter) Ivi Avellana-Cosio and (writer) Erwin Romulo and then I sent the production company in Italy the mp4 files with the subtitles cued exactly where I wanted them,” he said.
The hard work is meant to go beyond the premiere of “Portrait,” De Leon said.
“The interest in the film today should go beyond cinema because whether one likes the film or not, it speaks with great eloquence about the yearning for a lost era that will never return, but should never be forgotten,” the director added.
RELATED STORIES
What ‘Portrait of the Artist’ is all about
Naty Crame-Rogers at 90– ‘Never think that you are an accomplished artist’
Lamberto Avellana’s ‘Portrait’ to be restored
