Making of ‘Portrait’ docu now online

A documentary by multiawarded director Butch Nolasco on the making of National Artist Lamberto V. Avellana’s film masterpiece, “A Portrait of the Artist as Filipino,” is now available for viewing online.

“Portrait: Rediscovering a Filipino Film Classic” was uploaded to YouTube by Nolasco, following the announcement in the Inquirer’s March 29 issue that Avellana’s 1965 movie based on Nick Joaquin’s famous play, has been digitally restored and is scheduled for screening at the Cultural Center of the Philippines on April 25.

Nolasco’s documentary won first runner-up at the 19th Gawad CCP Film and Video Competitions, and has been voted among the top 20 documentaries in the festival’s history.

“This is a perfect companion piece to Avellana’s classic film,” says Nolasco, who was given rare access by director Mike de Leon to a newly assembled print of the movie in 2006.

De Leon’s father, Manuel, was the producer of the film which fared poorly at the box office, despite the stage version’s highly successful run.

Nolasco’s “making-of” video, a collaboration with Avellana’s artist-daughter Ivi Cosio, includes interviews with national artist Bienvenido Lumbera, cultural historian Nicanor Tiongson and filmmaker Nick DeOcampo.

Cosio, who was her father’s assistant director in 1965, is also the documentary’s narrator.

For Nolasco, the biggest “coup” was an interview with actress Naty Crame-Rogers, who plays Paula in the movie. “That was really quite a thrill,” he says.

Nolasco is currently finishing postproduction work on the historical series, “National Treasures: A Journey Through History,” which will have its premiere in May, during the Heritage Month Festival of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts.