Mr. Li. 2019. Philippines. Directed by Mike De Leon, Tom Estrera III, Carlo Fajarda. DCP. 8 min.
“[Mr. Li] is about our country’s subservience to China. It was inspired by footage I shot of a middle-aged Red Guard singing one of Mao’s revolutionary songs all by himself” (Mike De Leon)
Biyaya ng Lupa (Bounty of the Earth). 1959. Philippines. Directed by Manuel Silos. Screenplay by Celso Al. Carunungan, Pablo Naval. With Rosa Rosal, Tony Santos, Leroy Salvador. DCP. Courtesy ABS-CBN Sagip Pelikula. In Filipino; English subtitles. 111 min.
Mike De Leon considers Bounty of the Earth “one of the most outstanding achievements of LVN Pictures. It is truly a timeless film, as moving today as it was in 1959 when it was first released.” The studio director Manuel Silos was largely known for his broad romantic comedies and musicals, so few were prepared for the deeply felt social realism of this family drama. “It was a non-commercial movie with no big stars,” he writes, “but it dealt with rural life, the earth’s bounty, the corrupting influence of the big city—themes close to my grandmother’s heart [Doña Sisang, the founder of LVN Pictures]. The film is packed with biblical allusions as it tells the story of a provincial couple, aptly named Jose and Maria (Tony Santos and Rosa Rosal), the children they raise, the challenges and tragedies that shake their family’s foundation, and the determination to overcome the misfortunes with their values and faith in Divine Providence intact.”
Please note, little survives of the film library of LVN studios, and what does survive is generally in poor condition. We nonetheless present these rare films so that New York audiences can experience them for the first time.