Fernando Poe Jr.’s film collection makes it to Unesco heritage program
Fernando Poe, Jr. FILE PHOTO
A total of 168 movies of the late National Artist Fernando Poe Jr. (FPJ), which his family established and archived, have made it to the heritage program of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (Unesco) as part of the Memory of the World (MoW) Program.
FPJ’s daughter Sen. Grace Poe showed appreciation to Unesco for choosing her father’s film collection, as part of the MoW Program. She said these movies were properly preserved in the FPJ Film Archives.
“We have put in a lot of effort to maintain it, and we are grateful that the UNESCO, through Professor Nick Deocampo, has recognized the significance of the FPJ Film Archives and is now committed to ensuring that that this legacy of my father to the Filipino people remains protected, remembered, and passed on to future generations,” she said in her speech during the launch of the Philippine leg of the global MoW at the Department of Foreign Affairs.
Sen. Grace Poe at the launch of the Philippine leg of the global MoW at the Department of Foreign Affairs. Handout
Sen. Grace Poe with her cousin, Jeffrey Sonora, vice president of FPJ Productions, and Nick Deocampo, chairperson of the Unesco Philippine MoW program.
Deocampo, a renowned filmmaker and film historian, serves as the chairperson of the Philippine MoW committee.
UNESCO’s MoW aims to preserve and honor a country’s documentary heritage and make it accessible to the public.
Dubbed the “King of Philippine Movies,” FPJ’s films became the cinematic chronicles of the travails of the Filipino working class. Many identified with his portrayal of a man fighting the forces of oppression, and found vicarious joy in his character’s ability to attain justice.
Poe said many of FPJ’s movies, including those he produced, came at a crucial historical juncture when the country was recovering from the devastating effects of World War 2, political uncertainties, social inequality, injustice and poverty.
As such, FPJ’s films captured the people’s aspirations to find in cinema their own identity and their own hero.
“I saw how films were a powerful medium for storytelling. They are history books in motion and an impactful way to transmit our values and identity to the next generation. Consequently, every time we lose a film because it has not been properly preserved, we lose a part of our story, and in a sense, a part of ourselves,” Poe said.
The FPJ Film Collection is one of nine (9) Philippine documents and collections inscribed in the UNESCO MoW International, Regional, and National Registers, which also include:
(1) The Presidential Papers of Manuel Quezon;
(2) The Radio Broadcast of the EDSA People Power Revolution;
(3) the Jose Maceda Collection consisting of musical archive and field notes;
(4) the Philippine Paleographs (from the Hanunoo, Buhid, Tagbanua, and Pala’wan);
(5) the Culion Leprosy Museum Archives;
(6) Doctrina Christiana (1593) – one of the earliest printed books in the Philippines;
(7) The Hinilawod Epic Chant Recordings;
(8) And Edie Romero’s Ganito Kami Noon, Paano Kami Ngayon? – a film classic.
“These individual collections and works are important strands which make up the colorful tapestry of our collective Filipino heritage. They help us understand the Filipino identity and the broader humanity,” Poe said.
“The responsibility for caring and preserving great works of art and culture usually falls heavily to those of us who are left behind. It is a challenge but also a privilege. So, to be assured that there is a global effort to support the preservation and recognition of these intellectual treasures is greatly appreciated,” Poe added.
