''Dekada '70'' () is a Filipino

novel A novel is an extended work of narrative fiction usually written in prose and published as a book. The word derives from the for 'new', 'news', or 'short story (of something new)', itself from the , a singular noun use of the neuter plural of ...

by Lualhati Bautista. It tells the story of a middle-class family in Manila living through

martial law under Ferdinand Marcos At 7:15 p.m. on September 23, 1972, President Ferdinand Marcos announced on television that he had placed the Philippines under martial law, stating he had done so in response to the "communist threat" posed by the newly founded Communist Part ...

. The novel was awarded the 1983 Palanca Award Grand Prize.

Translations

An English-language translation by Clarisse de Jesus was self-published by Bautista. In 2022, it was reported by Bautista that

Penguin Random House Penguin Random House Limited is a British-American multinational corporation, multinational conglomerate (company), conglomerate publishing company formed on July 1, 2013, with the merger of Penguin Books and Random House. Penguin Books was or ...

was offering to publish an English-language translation as part of the

Penguin Classics Penguin Classics is an imprint (trade name), imprint of Penguin Books under which classic works of literature are published in English language, English, Spanish language, Spanish, Portuguese language, Portuguese, and Korean language, Korean amon ...

series.

Adaptations

The novel was adapted as a 2002 film of the same name under

Star Cinema ABS-CBN Film Productions, Inc., trade name, doing business as Star Cinema and also known as ABS-CBN Films (since 2018), is a Philippines, Philippine film studio, film, television production company, production and distribution (marketing), di ...

, directed by Chito S. Roño, and with a screenplay by Lualhati Bautista. The film starred

Vilma Santos Rosa Vilma Tuazon Santos-Recto (born November 3, 1953) is a Filipino actress and politician. In a career spanning over seven decades, she is recognized for her versatility in acting across various genres of film and television in the Philippine ...

and

Christopher de Leon Christopher Strauss de León (born October 31, 1956), also known as Boyet, is a Filipino actor, filmmaker and politician. Often referred to as the "King of Philippine Drama", he gained stardom for his leading man roles in numerous film and te ...

with

Piolo Pascual Piolo Jose Nonato Pascual (, born January 12, 1977) is a Filipino actor, model, singer, television host, comedian and film producer. Pascual began a career in 1993 after landing a bit role in the film ''The Vizconde Massacre Story (God Help ...

, Carlos Agassi, Marvin Agustin, Danilo Barrios, John Wayne Sace, and Kris Aquino. It showed at the

Metro Manila Film Festival The Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF) is an annual film festival organized by the Metro Manila Development Authority and held nationwide in the Philippines. The festival, which runs from Christmas Day through New Year's Day and into first weeke ...

, where it was awarded second Best Picture after ''

Mano Po ''Mano Po'' () is a 2002 Filipino drama film produced by Regal Entertainment, and an entry to the 2002 Metro Manila Film Festival. The film's title refers to the " honoring-gesture" used in Filipino culture as a sign of respect to elders. Th ...

'', with Pascual winning Best Supporting Actor. At the 26th Gawad Urian Awards, it tied with '' Mga Munting Tinig'' for Best Film. It also won Best Screenplay for Bautista, Best Actress for Santos, and Best Supporting Actor for Pascual. The film was the Philippines' official submission for the Academy Award for Best Foreign-Language Film but failed to get nominated. In 2018, the novel was adapted as a musical first staged at the

University of the Philippines The University of the Philippines (UP; ) is a Higher education in the Philippines#State universities and colleges, state university system in the Philippines. It is the country's national university, as mandated by List of Philippine laws, Re ...

and then restaged at Ateneo de Manila University.

References

{{Martial EDSA 1988 novels Philippine political novels Philippine historical novels Novels set in the Philippines Novels set in the 1970s 1970s in the Philippines Books about the Ferdinand Marcos administration Philippine novels adapted into films Films about the Ferdinand Marcos presidency Novels by Lualhati Bautista