''Bona'' is a 1980

Filipino Filipino may refer to: * Something from or related to the Philippines ** Filipino language, standardized variety of 'Tagalog', the national language and one of the official languages of the Philippines. ** Filipinos, people who are citizens of th ...

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

directed by

Lino Brocka Catalino Ortiz Brocka (April 3, 1939 – May 22, 1991) was a Filipino film director. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential and significant filmmakers in the history of Philippine cinema. He co-founded the organization Concerned Art ...

, with the film's lead character, Bona, played by acclaimed actress

Nora Aunor Nora Cabaltera Villamayor (born May 21, 1953), professionally known as Nora Aunor (), is a Filipino actress, recording artist, and film producer. Aunor has also appeared in several stage plays, television shows and concerts. She is known as Ph ...

. It was submitted as an entry to the

Metro Manila Film Festival The Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF) is an annual film festival held in Metro Manila, Philippines. The festival, which runs from December 25 (Christmas) through New Year's Day and into first weekend of January in the following year, focuses on ...

that same year. ''Bona'' was also shown at the

Directors' Fortnight The Directors' Fortnight (french: Quinzaine des Réalisateurs) is an independent selection of the Cannes Film Festival. It was started in 1969 by the French Directors Guild after the events of May 1968 resulted in cancellation of the Cannes festiv ...

of the 1981 Cannes International Film Festival, marking Brocka's second appearance at the festival. ''Bona'' also gave Aunor her second

Gawad Urian The Gawad Urian Awards are annual film awards in the Philippines held since 1977. It is given by the Manunuri ng Pelikulang Pilipino (MPP, "the Filipino Film Critics") and is currently regarded as the counterpart of the United States' New York Fi ...

best actress trophy.

Cast

as Bona *

Phillip Salvador Phillip Mikael "Ipe" Reyes Salvador (born Felipe Reyes Salvador; August 22, 1953) is a three-time FAMAS award-winning Filipino film and television actor. Acting career Salvador made his film debut in 1971 with ''Adios Mi Amor''. He toiled in m ...

as Gardo *

Raquel Montesa Raquel Monteza (born Maria Teresa Calimbahin Rounsaville on September 30, 1955) is a Filipino actress. Career Monteza appeared in movies such as ''"What Am I Living For"'' (1970) starring Eddie Peregrina, ''"Kapag may Gusot, may Lusot"'' (1973) ...

as Nancy *

Rustica Carpio Rustica Cruz Carpio (August 9, 1930 – February 1, 2022) was a Filipino actress, scholar, playwright, philanthropist, and public servant. Most notably an actress, she performed on stage, film, and television. She received acclaim for her role ...

as Bona's mother *

Marissa Delgado Maria Epifania Garcia Boyle, better known by her stage name Marissa Delgado, is a Filipino actress of American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "Unit ...

as Katrina *Venchito Galvez as Bona's father *Nanding Josef as Nilo *

Spanky Manikan Spanky Manikan (March 22, 1942 – January 14, 2018) was a Filipino theater, film and television actor. In 1981, Manikan won as the Metro Manila Film Festival Best Supporting Actor and the Catholic Mass Media Awards Best Supporting Actor for ''Hi ...

as Bona's brother * Archi Adamos as Tambay * Rene Hawkins as Rene *

Joel Lamangan Joel Lamangan (born September 21, 1952) is a Filipino film director, television director and actor. His award-winning films includes '' The Flor Contemplacion Story'', ''Sidhi'', '' Deathrow'', ''Hubog'', '' Aishte Imasu 1941'', '' Blue Moon'' an ...

as Director * The PETA Kalinangan Ensemble

Reviews

''Bona'' has been considered as one of the Philippines' greatest movies. It was also cited as one of "The Best 100 Films in the World" by the

Museum of Tolerance The Museum of Tolerance-Beit HaShoah (MOT, House of the Holocaust), a multimedia museum in Los Angeles, California, United States, is designed to examine racism and prejudice around the world with a strong focus on the history of the Holocaust. Th ...

Los Angeles, USA Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

in 1997 and has been screened in different film festivals around the world, albeit receiving mixed reviews. It was also screened at the 47th Viennale:

Vienna International Film Festival The Vienna International Film Festival, or Viennale, is a film festival taking place every October since 1960 in Vienna, Austria. The average number of visitors is about 75,000. Traditional cinema venues are ''Gartenbaukino'', ''Urania'', ''Metro ...

, where Barbara Wurm, Berlin- and Vienna-based film historian, critic, and programmer, described Philippine cinema's Superstar as “the awesome Nora Aunor.” The Philippine Educational Theater Association staged an adaptation of the film from August 24 to September 23, 2012 at the Peta Theater Center. The adaptation was written by Layeta Bucoy and directed by Socrates "Soxie" Topacio.

Eugene Domingo Eugena Roxas Domingo (born July 23, 1971), popularly known as Eugene Domingo, is a Filipino actress, comedienne and host. She has performed in lead and supporting roles in various genres of the Philippine film industry. She is popularly known as ...

played Bona while

Edgar Allan Guzman Edgar Allan Guzman (born November 20, 1989 in Pasig, Philippines) also known by his nickname and screen name EA Guzman, is a Filipino actor, singer, host, model, and vlogger. He gained popularity after he became the Mr. Pogi 2006 of ''Eat Bula ...

played Gino Sanchez, the stage counterpart of the film's Gardo.

Accolades

Festivals

*1980 - Official Selection, Directors’ Fortnight, Cannes International Film Festival *1980 - Official Selection, Critics’ Choice Section, 25th

London Film Festival The BFI London Film Festival is an annual film festival founded in 1957 and held in the United Kingdom, running for two weeks in October with co-operation from the British Film Institute. It screens more than 300 films, documentaries and shor ...

, November 12 *1981 - Official Selection, Filipino Cinema Panorama, 3rd

Festival Des 3 Continents The Festival des 3 Continents is an annual film festival held since 1979 in Nantes, France, and is devoted to the cinemas of Asia, and Africa and Latin America. It was founded by Philippe and Alain Jalladeau.Nantes Nantes (, , ; Gallo: or ; ) is a city in Loire-Atlantique on the Loire, from the Atlantic coast. The city is the sixth largest in France, with a population of 314,138 in Nantes proper and a metropolitan area of nearly 1 million inhabita ...

, December 1-8 *1996 - Fest96: The AFI Los Angeles International Film Festival, October 26 *1999 - Feature Film: Tribute to Asian Master Lino Brocka,

Telluride Film Festival The Telluride Film Festival (TFF) is a film festival held annually in Telluride, Colorado during Labor Day weekend (the first Monday in September). The 49th edition took place on September 2 -6, 2022. History First held on 30 August 1974, th ...

*2005 - Official Selection, Lino Brocka Retrospective, 23rd

Torino Film Festival The Torino Film Festival (also called the Turin Film Festival, TFF) is an international film festival held annually in Turin, Italy. Held every November, it is the second largest film festival in Italy, following the Venice Film Festival. It was f ...

, November 15

References

Furthering reading

*Tobias, Mel. ''One hundred acclaimed Tagalog movies''. Canada: Peanut Butter Publishing, 1998.

External links

* {{MMFF 1980 films Philippine drama films 1980 drama films Films directed by Lino Brocka