By Sara Stokoe
Additional research by Shirley Hsu
Dekada ‘70
Director: Chito S. Rono
Screenwriter: Lualhati Bautista
Cinematographer: Neil Daza
Editor: Jess Navarro
Production Company: Star Cinema Productions
Year of Release: 2002
Country: Philippines
Dekada ‘70, originally an award winning novel by Lualhati Bautista, is the story of an average middle class family caught in the midst of the politically and socially tumultuous decade of the '70s, hence the name Dekada ‘70. The film depicts the struggle of the Bartolome family, which consists of a mother, Amanda (Vilma Santos) who much of the film centers on, her husband, and their five boys. We watch as they experience the traumatic decade of martial law in the Philippines full of bombings, random arrests and political prisoners. As the Filipino government becomes more oppressive, the people become more radical, and the Bartolome family witnesses and experiences it all. The five boys grow, form their own beliefs and carve out their own paths in life. Meanwhile, Amanda gradually transforms from “acquiescent and clueless” to courageous and political.
“Santos' performance is so vivid and insightful that we can see her changing in front of our very eyes… We were enthralled…we were moved. And we valued the film's important contribution to the very urgent task of reminding everyone of the trauma in our collective lives that was the martial law period of the '70s,” noted Nestor Torre of Inquirer News Service.
Chito Rono's Dekada ‘70 made its world premier at the Asian American International Film Festival in June of 2003.
The film has also won numerous domestic awards. The Young Critics Circle voted Dekada ‘70 Best Film of the Year (2002), Best Screenplay, Best Sound and Best Performance in a tie between actress Vilma Santos (Amanda) and Piolo Pascual (Amanda's eldest son). The Best Film of the Year award is reserved for the director, such that no separate prize for direction is needed. The Best Performance award is the most coveted as it is conferred on the performer whether male or female, adult or child, individual or ensemble in leading or supporting role.
Vilma Santos also received an award for Best Actress from Star Awards for Movies, Film Academy of The Philippines, and Gawad Urian Awards. Piolo Pascual also received an award for Best Supporting Actor from the Young Critics Film Circle, Metro Manila Film Festival, Star Awards for Movies, Film Academy of the Philippines, FAMAS Awards, and Gawad Urian Awards. The Gawad Urian Awards also presented Dekada '70 with the award for Best Screenplay.
The novel by Bautista won the Planaca Best Novel award in 1982 and was published in 1983.
The Process of Oscar Nominee Selection in the Philippines
The Philippines can be considered one of the top countries in the world in terms of abundance of award giving bodies. There are two major groups: the Film Academy of the Philippines, which is patterned after the U.S.' Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences FAMAS, and the Filipino Academy for Movie Arts and Sciences. Then there are two main critics groups: the Manunuring Pelikulang Pilipino (since 1976) and the Film Desk of the Young Critics Circle (since 1990). Finally, there is the Philippine Movie Press Club whose awards can be considered as the equivalent of Golden Globes in the United States. All these groups and their events are taken seriously by the public, producers and celebrities.
Judging by the number of awards, one could easily classify Dekada ‘70 a success, but unfortunately box office figures are considered classified in the Philippines so it impossible to tell exactly how well the movie did domestically. However, Nonoy Lauzon of the University of Philippines Film Institute and president of the Young Critics Circle, which named Dekada ‘70 Best Film of the Year (2002), stated “Sources who request anonymity place the domestic take of Dekada ‘70 at P53, 962, 413 (in Philippine peso) or roughly 1.079 million in US dollars. For a Filipino film to be counted as a blockbuster, it must break the P100M mark.” So obviously, this was by no means a mega-hit, yet it was selected to represent the Philippines as the film submitted to the 2004 Oscars for possible nomination.
A film is selected to be submitted for an Academy Award nomination by The Film Academy of the Philippines, which creates a committee for this purpose. “The committee reviews and picks the best film from among those shown within the period stipulated by AMPAS rules. A film sent to the Oscars has finished its commercial run in the country such that the distinction could not at all be said to make an impact on the film's profitability,” according to Lauzon.
While being submitted for possible nomination is surely gratifying to the makers of the film, only when it is actually nominated will Filipino films and their makers gain more credibility in the U.S. and in their own country, where Hollywood imports drown out the domestic films.