BONA (1980)
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Randwick Ritz, Sydney:
2:30 PM
Saturday 03 May
Lido Cinemas, Melbourne:
2:30 PM
Sunday 11 May
Rating: Unclassified 18+
Duration: 86 minutes
Country: Philippines
Language: Tagalog with English subtitles
Cast: Nora Aunor, Phillip Salvador
Director: Lino Brocka
SYDNEY TICKETS ⟶
MELBOURNE TICKETS ⟶
2:30 PM
Saturday 03 May
Lido Cinemas, Melbourne:
2:30 PM
Sunday 11 May
Rating: Unclassified 18+
Duration: 86 minutes
Country: Philippines
Language: Tagalog with English subtitles
Cast: Nora Aunor, Phillip Salvador
Director: Lino Brocka
SYDNEY TICKETS ⟶
MELBOURNE TICKETS ⟶
4K RESTORATION – AUSTRALIAN PREMIERE
“As mordant in its way as the slyly subversive movies Luis Buñuel made in Mexico, Brocka’s two-fisted melodrama is a hellish, compelling work by a director … called ‘the great filmmaker of the ’70s.’” – J. Hoberman, New York Times.
Bona is a stark tale of a selfless middle-class Manila schoolgirl (Nora Aunor) who develops a fierce, morbid attachment to a narcissistic movie extra and abandons everything to devote her life to serving the actor. No humiliation he heaps upon her deters in any way. Aunor’s performance transforms the story into a profound portrait of a woman who finally doesn’t take it anymore…
Out of sight for over forty years since it premiered at Cannes in 1981, the restoration premiered at Cannes Classics in 2024 and since then it has screened at the New York and Toronto Film Festivals.
Introduced by Russell Edwards at Ritz Cinemas and Chris Luscri at Lido Cinemas.
“As mordant in its way as the slyly subversive movies Luis Buñuel made in Mexico, Brocka’s two-fisted melodrama is a hellish, compelling work by a director … called ‘the great filmmaker of the ’70s.’” – J. Hoberman, New York Times.
Bona is a stark tale of a selfless middle-class Manila schoolgirl (Nora Aunor) who develops a fierce, morbid attachment to a narcissistic movie extra and abandons everything to devote her life to serving the actor. No humiliation he heaps upon her deters in any way. Aunor’s performance transforms the story into a profound portrait of a woman who finally doesn’t take it anymore…
Out of sight for over forty years since it premiered at Cannes in 1981, the restoration premiered at Cannes Classics in 2024 and since then it has screened at the New York and Toronto Film Festivals.
Introduced by Russell Edwards at Ritz Cinemas and Chris Luscri at Lido Cinemas.
THE RESTORATION
Source: DCP Carlotta Films, France
In 2023, Carlotta Films and Kani Releasing acquired the rights to the film from its producer and actor, Nora Aunor. This rediscovery of Bona is made possible thanks to the work of Professor José B. Capino (University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign) who, as part of his research, interviewed the late Pierre Rissient, champion of Filipino cinema. During this 2017 interview, Rissient entrusted Capino with information on the location of the elements of several Lino Brocka films, including Bona. Concerned with their preservation and exhibition, Rissient had the original negatives deposited at the LTC Lab in Paris (now Cité de Mémoire). Capino shared this information with Kani Releasing and Carlotta Films and the restoration was done from the original 35mm image and sound negatives preserved by LTC Patrimoine. Sound restoration was carried out at L.E. DIAPASON. Special thanks also to Gil Quito, Victoria Belarmino and Jojo Devera.
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Director: Lino Brocka; Production Company: NV Productions for the Metro Manila Film Festival 1980; Producer: Nora Villamayor; Script: Cenen Ramones; Photography: Conrado Baltazar; Editor: Augusto Salvador; Production Design: Joey Luna; Music: Max Jocson;
Cast: Nora Aunor (Bona), Philip Salvador (Gardo), Rustica Carpio (Bona’s father), Venchito Galvez (Bona’s mother), Spanky Manikan (Bona’s brother), Marissa Delgado (Katrina), Nanding Josef (Nilo).
Philippines | 1980 | 86 Mins | 4K DCP | Colour | Tagalog with English subtitles | UC 15+
In 2023, Carlotta Films and Kani Releasing acquired the rights to the film from its producer and actor, Nora Aunor. This rediscovery of Bona is made possible thanks to the work of Professor José B. Capino (University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign) who, as part of his research, interviewed the late Pierre Rissient, champion of Filipino cinema. During this 2017 interview, Rissient entrusted Capino with information on the location of the elements of several Lino Brocka films, including Bona. Concerned with their preservation and exhibition, Rissient had the original negatives deposited at the LTC Lab in Paris (now Cité de Mémoire). Capino shared this information with Kani Releasing and Carlotta Films and the restoration was done from the original 35mm image and sound negatives preserved by LTC Patrimoine. Sound restoration was carried out at L.E. DIAPASON. Special thanks also to Gil Quito, Victoria Belarmino and Jojo Devera.
Director: Lino Brocka; Production Company: NV Productions for the Metro Manila Film Festival 1980; Producer: Nora Villamayor; Script: Cenen Ramones; Photography: Conrado Baltazar; Editor: Augusto Salvador; Production Design: Joey Luna; Music: Max Jocson;
Cast: Nora Aunor (Bona), Philip Salvador (Gardo), Rustica Carpio (Bona’s father), Venchito Galvez (Bona’s mother), Spanky Manikan (Bona’s brother), Marissa Delgado (Katrina), Nanding Josef (Nilo).
Philippines | 1980 | 86 Mins | 4K DCP | Colour | Tagalog with English subtitles | UC 15+