''Giliw Ko'' (''My Love'') is a 1939

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 ...

film. A

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film and television, a genre of film and television that incorporates into the narr ...

romance Romance (from Vulgar Latin , "in the Roman language", i.e., "Latin") may refer to: Common meanings * Romance (love), emotional attraction towards another person and the courtship behaviors undertaken to express the feelings * Romance languages, ...

, ''Giliw Ko'' had a radio theme, and was the first production of the Filipino company, LVN Pictures. The restored film is notable for being a gift from

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

to the

people to commemorate 100 years of

independence Independence is a condition of a person, nation, country, or state in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the statu ...

. It was directed and written by Carlos Vander Tolosa, and starred

Mila del Sol Clarita Villarba Rivera, better known by her screen name Mila del Sol (12 May 1923 – 10 November 2020), was a Filipina actress, entrepreneur and philanthropist. Born in Tondo, Manila, she gained fame in her very first lead role in the 1939 fil ...

, Fernando Poe, Sr., Ely Ramos and

Fleur de Lis The fleur-de-lis, also spelled fleur-de-lys (plural ''fleurs-de-lis'' or ''fleurs-de-lys''), is a lily (in French, and mean 'flower' and 'lily' respectively) that is used as a decorative design or symbol. The fleur-de-lis has been used in the ...

. The film made a milestone by being the first to show a woman in a bathing suit worn by Fleur de Lis.

Synopsis

The

film A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

tells the tale of Guia, a country girl played by

, who begins to sing American songs on the radio, after being infatuated with images of Hollywood and the attention lavished on her by the son of the wealthy hacienda owner. Actor Ely Ramos plays the son who is also the bandleader of the orchestra. She finds fame and moves to Manila. Eventually, she becomes disillusioned, and returns to the province, singing Filipino music. She also returns to the arms of her childhood sweetheart (played by Fernando Poe, Sr).

Cast

* Fernando Poe Sr. as Jose *

as Guia *Ely Ramos as Antonio Lopez *

as Rosie *Ben Rubio as Mang Takio *Precioso Palma as Don Alvaro *Cecilia Joaquin as Mang Juan *Viva Ortega as Doña Lucia *Nieves Obieta as Atang *SSS Trio as Themselves

Restoration

In 1998, the

Australian government The Australian Government, also known as the Commonwealth Government, is the national government of Australia, a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy. Like other Westminster-style systems of government, the Australian Government i ...

offered a restoration of the single remaining 16mm print to commemorate the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

' 100th year of independence. The

Philippine Information Agency The Presidential Communications Group, or simply the Communications Group, is the collective name for the offices within the Office of the President of the Philippines and refers to the position of the Office of the Press Secretary, formerly kn ...

and the

National Film and Sound Archive The National Film and Sound Archive of Australia (NFSA), known as ScreenSound Australia from 1999 to 2004, is Australia's audiovisual archive, responsible for developing, preserving, maintaining, promoting and providing access to a national co ...

Canberra Canberra ( ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...

(both members of SEAPAVAA, the South East Asia-Pacific Audio Visual Archive Association) worked together on the restoration. In 2022, the

ABS-CBN Film Restoration Project ABS-CBN Film Restoration Project or also known as Sagip Pelikula, was a digital film restoration project of ABS-CBN Corporation in partnership with Central Digital Lab. The project is headed by Leo Katigbak of ABS-CBN Film Archives and Manet Day ...

is currently undergoing a new scan of the film print that was previously restored in 1998.

External links

Times Film Festival review and background
* 1939 films Philippine black-and-white films 1930s romantic musical films Philippine romantic musical films {{Philippines-film-stub