This July, Criterion Channel features a four-film spotlight on the National Artist for Film Lino Brocka, whom they hailed as the “preeminent Filipino auteur.” The spotlight, called “Lino Brocka: Legend of Philippine Cinema,” includes the two films already in the Criterion Collection: Maynila sa mga Kuko ng Liwanag and Insiang, as well as Cain at Abel, and the recently restored Bona, done in 2024 by the Hong Kong-based boutique film distributor label Kani Releasing and the French film distributor Carlotta Films.
The Spotlight’s notes say, “[His films] scorch the screen with raw emotion and righteous anger at class inequality, sexual violence, and the pervasive corruption of the Marcos era.”
Kani Releasing and Carlotta have already formed a strong partnership with Bona, which premiered at the Cannes Classics segment of the film festival in 2024, so much so that they are in the process of restoring another Brocka classic, Macho Dancer.
“We love Lino Brocka and Filipino cinema,” says Carlotta Films’ Vincent Paul-Boncour. “[But] his filmography is still little known to the French and American audiences. And only a few of his films have been released in France.”
As for selecting Macho Dancer for restoration, he told Rolling Stone Philippines, “Macho Dancer is part of the major Brocka films but became difficult to [watch], especially in good condition. So, we [realized], with Kani, [that] it had to be restored to preserve and to show it again to the audience.”
Macho Dancer tells the story of 18-year-old Pol, played by Allan Paule in one of his best performances, who falls into the world of sex work, in order to support his family. The film also stars Jaclyn Jose, Daniel Fernando, Jonard Abanco, and Princess Punzalan. The film is written by Amado Lacuesta and Ricky Lee.
The film premiered in 1988 and was screened in film festivals in Toronto, Rotterdam, and London. An uncensored print was later shown at the Museum of Modern Art in 2020 as part of the “Show Me Love: International Teen Cinema” series.
Criterion Channel is only available in the U.S. and Canada. However, Filipino film enthusiasts can watch all the films in the Director Spotlight, except for Bona, on the Film and Development Council of the Philippines’ own streaming platform JuanFlix.
Now that Brocka has a spotlight at the Criterion Channel and more films are now restored, a new generation of film lovers will be able to rediscover one of the best Filipino filmmakers of all time.
“Filipino films are still something new for the [European] audience,” says Paul-Boncour. “We need to continue and extend our work to develop an audience for Filipino films, in France, and the rest of the world.”
