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The Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) Arthouse Cinema, in cooperation with Society of Filipino Archivists for Film (Sofia), the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA), and the University of the Philippines Los Baños Foundation Inc., presents Manuel Conde@100 at the CCP Tanghalang Manuel Conde on Sept. 24, and Oct. 1 and 8.
This special event is part of a year-round series of events held to celebrate the birth centennial of National Artist for Film Manuel Conde, who was born Manuel Urbano in Daet town, Camarines Norte province, on Oct. 9, 1915.
Three Conde films will be shown:
• Genghis Khan (1950, MC Productions) on Sept. 24: Starring Manuel Conde and Elvira Reyes, this acknowledged classic is about how the young, but wily Temujin rose to become the overlord of the Mongol empire.
The version to be shown will have the original Tagalog soundtrack, unhampered by James Agee’s poetic narration in the reedited international edition, which was restored in 2012. Sofia board member Teddy Co will discuss for the first time some confounding and overlooked facets about the film.
• Krus na Kawayan (Bamboo Cross) (1956, MC Productions/Usis) on Oct. 1: Starring Manuel Conde and Aida Carino, and filmed entirely in Vietnam with Filipino actors in Vietnamese roles, this film tackles the refugee crisis at the onset of the Vietnam War.
The United States Information Service (Usis) funded the film as propaganda material to portray the evils of Communism during the Cold War. Jun Urbano, who was a young boy in the film, will attend and talk about his experiences working with his father.
• Venganza (Revenge) (1958, LVN Pictures) on Oct. 8: Starring Mario Montenegro, Carmencita Abad, Perla Bautista and Carlos Padilla Jr., this action-thriller is considered one of Conde’s underrated films.
The screening will be preceded by cocktails and the launch of the Manuel Conde Centennial stamp by the Philippine Postal Authority and NCCA. After the screening, film scholar Nicanor G. Tiongson, author of The Cinema of Manuel Conde, will give a talk emphasizing Conde’s delicacy and care in depicting the Igorot people in the film. A rare clip of an interview with Conde before he died will also be shown.
Conde was one of the Philippines’ most original filmmakers who straddled both the mainstream and independent film worlds. He started out in movies in 1934 by acting in bit roles, then became assistant director to Carlos Vander Tolosa at LVN Pictures before moving on to directing films at the same studio in 1940.
It was only when he put up his own company, MC Productions, in 1947 that he began to hit his stride by directing himself and acting as Juan Tamad, and creating costume epics on limited budgets. He achieved international renown when Genghis Khan became the first Filipino film to compete at the Venice International Film Festival in 1952.
After working on ambitious, but unrealized projects in the 1950s, Conde continued producing films and TV programs well into the 1970s, and made cameo appearances in minor films until his death at the age of 69 in 1985.
Conde was declared a National Artist in 2009, but officially conferred the title only this year.
Kidlat Tahimik, the acknowledged father of local independent filmmaking, once said Conde should be called the “grandfather” of Philippine independent filmmaking.
The CCP Arthouse Cinema Program aims to provide audiences with opportunities to engage with local and international art films and their makers through a yearlong program of screenings, talkbacks, special events and other movie-related activities.
For more information, call the CCP Media Arts at (632) 832-1125, local 1704 and 1705.