CANNES, France – “It’s a very powerful film. The lead, Nora (Aunor), is incredible in it,” writer-director Sean Baker said after watching the restored version of the late Lino Brocka’s Bona as a Cannes Classic here at the Cannes Film Festival. “So, I’m really happy that Bona will be getting a new life because it really deserves an audience,” added Sean, who himself has an entry in the main competition, Anora .
More about this winning comedy, which received a long standing ovation, in a coming column. The American filmmaker, known for such acclaimed indie films as Red Rocket , The Florida Project , and Tangerine , said to me in the reception at the Palais des Festivals following the special screening at La Salle Bunuel: “This is my first time seeing this Lino Brocka film and I was blown away. I’m so happy that this is the way I’m first seeing it because this restoration is glowing.
It’s incredible.” “It’s like one of these ideal situations in which I’ve been told that they thought that the negative might be lost but no, the negative was safe and sound in Paris in a lab.” Sean praised the late Pierre Rissient who championed Philippine cinema in his heyday: “Obviously, it was placed there by Pierre Rissient and thank God he did that because now, we have this classic that has been preserved and the restoration has now made it something that people can enjoy for generations.
” It turns out that Sean, whose accolades include awards in the Deauvi.
