Himala
Encyclopedia
Himalâ is a Filipino film directed by the late National Artist
Ishmael Bernal
of the Philippines
in 1982. The film's script
was written by multi-award winner screenwriter
Ricky Lee
based on a true incident on a teenage girl in Cabra Island in the province
of Occidental Mindoro
between 1966 and 1967. Sergio Lobo was the Director of Photography.
Himalâ was filmed entirely in the province of Ilocos Norte
in just three weeks with a budget of only ₱
3 million. The film premiered at the 1982 Metro Manila Film Festival
, and in 1983, became the first and to date, the only Filipino film to be included in the "Competition Section" of the prestigious Berlin International Film Festival
. Since then, Himala has been exhibited in a number of film festival
s around the world.
On November 11, 2008, Himalâ won the Viewer's Choice Award for the Best Film of all Time from the Asia-Pacific Region in the 2008 CNN
Asia Pacific Screen Awards
beating out nine other outstanding movies.(voted by thousands of film fans around the world). The ten finalists were chosen by critics, industry insiders and actors—including Bollywood
stars Amitabh Bachchan
and Aishwarya Rai
.
Philippine superstar Nora Aunor
is best known for her performance in the film as the visionary Elsa. Her portrayal is considered by most Filipino critics as the best of her career.
lass whose visions of the Virgin Mary changed her life and caused a sensation hysteria
in a poor, isolated village. The film is centered on the issues of religious faith
and faithlessness. Elsa, in her speech on the hill, delivered the film's (and Aunor's) most famous line:
Himalâ became a box-office hit, earning an impressive PhP 30 million, becoming one of the highest grossing Filipino films
in the 1980s. Aunor also won several awards for her performance.
landscape
. The townsfolk believed that the drought
they were having was a curse
placed on the upon the town for driving away a leper years before.
During a solar eclipse
, Elsa (Aunor), a local young woman, allegedly saw an apparition of the Blessed Virgin Mary atop a barren hill, the same place where her adoptive mother Aling Salíng (Labalan) found her as a baby. Right after, she started healing
local residents assisted by her friends, Chayong (Centeno) and Sepa (Quiambao), who eventually became part of her "Seven Apostles", including entrepreneur
Mrs. Alba (Palileo). Word spread around and soon pilgrims
and tourists started arriving in Cupang to visit Elsa's house, distinguished by the big sign "Elsa loves you," to see her. At the same time, enterprising residents of Cupang started businesses like selling religious articles, offering accommodations, among others, capitalizing on the sudden influx of local and foreign patients and tourists.
Orly (Spanky Manikan), a filmmaker, arrived in town to make a documentary
about Elsa, interviewing her and people who personally know her. Around the same time, Elsa's childhood friend Nimia (Dueñas), now a prostitute, returned and established a kabaret (a sleazy nightclub
/brothel
) for tourists, which was later ordered closed by the Seven Apostles.
One day, in the church's confessional
, Orly revealed to the town's Catholic priest (Lamangan) that he saw two drugged youths from Manila
sexually assaulting Elsa and Chayong on the hill. The filmmaker was holding a tremendous guilt
; instead of helping the two victims, he continued capturing the incident on film, as he needed a scoop
for his struggling career.
A cholera
epidemic
spread throughout Cupang, with Sepa's two children dying after eating tainted meat at Elsa's house. Chayong then hanged herself because of shame
from the assault. Authorities quarantined Elsa's house, closing it off from patients. Elsa blamed herself for all of the deaths and decided to stop healing. Eventually, the patients and tourists stopped coming, leaving the town the way it was before the hoopla.
Elsa started showing signs of pregnancy
from the rape. Mrs. Alba concluded that it is "Immaculate Conception
" and proclaimed that Elsa is truly blessed. At the exact moment, thunder started roaring in the background, followed by pouring rain. The townspeople rejoiced and played in the rain, convinced that the miracle has returned and that the curse was finally lifted. Mrs. Alba and the crowd returned to Elsa's house and called out to her. She commanded her followers to call everybody to assemble on the hill.
In front of her congregation, Elsa, apprehensive at first, eventually professed that there were no miracles, no sightings of the Virgin, and pleaded that people themselves invent gods, miracles, curses and such. In the middle of her speech, a gun pointed towards her, was fired, hitting her on her chest and a violent stampede ensued. The old and infirm who came to be healed, including children were trampled upon in the mass hysteria. Injuries were everywhere.
Elsa gasped her last breathe in her mother's arms looking towards the sky while Orly and other reporters captured her last moment on their cameras. Wailing and crying ensued after the announcement of her death, and the crowd started gravitating towards her. As Elsa was being taken to a waiting ambulance, her followers lifted her lifeless body overhead, in a crucifix
position, as the crowd wanted to touch her. Crowds were scampering all over the hill as they followed Elsa down to the car. Against her husband's will, Sepa shouted to the crowd, proclaiming that Elsa was a saint, a martyr for the world's suffering. She led the congregation in praying the Hail Mary
on their knees going up the hill as the ambulance carrying Elsa drove away.
and the 1983 Catholic Mass Media Awards.
At the Manila Film Festival, the movie swept 9 of the 11 awards available. Aunor won the Best Actress trophy for her role in the film at the December local film festival, and was nominated for other top acting awards in the Philippines. She was nominated for Best Actress at the 33rd Berlin International Film Festival
, where Himalâ vied in the prestigious competition for the Golden Bear
Award. The film was personally handpicked by Festival Director Moritz de Hadeln
in the official selection.
The film's international honors also included the Bronze Hugo prize at the 1983 Chicago International Film Festival
; it received a special religious citation in the 1983 Asia-Pacific Film Festival held in Taipei, Taiwan; and it was selected as the opening film for the 1983 Manila International Film Festival.
Himalâ was the choice of the Filipino film critics' society Manunuri ng Pelikulang Pilipino
as one of the ten best films of the 1980s. In 2002, the same critics' group named Himalâ one of the best Filipino movies for the last three decades, from 1970 - 1999.
Bernal, the film's director, was conferred the National Artist Award posthumously (he died in 1996). His body of work was accorded the high recognition of Gawad CCP para sa Sining in 1990, and the Centennial Honors for the Arts, on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the Philippine Declaration of Independence
and Nationhood in 1998.
Himalâ was the only Filipino film that made it to the shortlist of the Best Asian Films of All Time chosen by CNN International
in 2008. It was cited for its "austere camera work, haunting score and accomplished performances [that] sensitively portray the harsh social and cultural conditions that people in the third world endure." On November 12, 2008 it was announced
' resident theatre company Tanghalang Pilipino
(TP) to stage a musical version entitled Waláng Himalâ.
Originally, the collaboration intended to stage a "sequel," set twenty years after Elsa was shot (the same time that had lapsed since the movie was shown). It would have starred Nora Aunor in the role of Elsa, establishing her as surviving the gunshot.
However, Aunor was not available and the team went on to produce a musical version of the movie. It was staged in the Huséng Batutè Theatre of the CCP in 2003 in the 20th season of TP. The libretto
was by Ricky Lee, music and musical direction by Vincent de Jesus
, lyrics by Vincent de Jesus and Ricky Lee, direction by Soxie Topacio, set and costume design
by Gino Gonzales, choreography
by Jose Jay Cruz and lighting design by Benjamin Villareal, Jr. May Bayot played the role of Elsa together with Isay Alvarez as Nimia, and Cynthia Culig-Guico as Chayong. Bayot won an Alíw Award
for Best Actress in a Musical that year.
Due to popular demand, it was re-staged at the larger Tanghalang Aurélio Tolentino in 2004 in the 21st season of TP with the same artistic team. It went to Shanghai, China in 2008 as the Philippine representative to the Shanghai International Theater Festival. Waláng Himalâ which was the final song in the musical, was featured in CCP's Gala 40th Anniversary Concert "Rubies," performed by mezzo-soprano Clarissa Ocampo
with the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra
, arranged and conducted
by Maestro
Chino Toledo.
The original cast recording
, produced by de Jesus, was recorded in 2008 and was released independently in 2009.
with Angel Locsin
as Elsa, after her delivery of the film's dialogues in one of Ricky Lee's fan conventions. Ricky Lee himself, said that Angel Locsin
would be the perfect choice to play the part of Elsa.
National Artist of the Philippines
A National Artist of the Philippines is a title given to a Filipino who has been given the highest recognition for having made significant contributions to the development of Philippine arts...
Ishmael Bernal
Ishmael Bernal
Ishmael Bernal was an acclaimed Filipino film, stage and television director. He was also an actor and screenwriter...
of the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
in 1982. The film's script
Script
Script may refer to:Computing* Script , a small program written for a command interpreter or another scripting language* script , a tool that records a tty session* SCRIPT/VS, a text formatting language developed at IBM...
was written by multi-award winner screenwriter
Screenwriter
Screenwriters or scriptwriters or scenario writers are people who write/create the short or feature-length screenplays from which mass media such as films, television programs, Comics or video games are based.-Profession:...
Ricky Lee
Ricky Lee
Ricky Lee is a Filipino scriptwriter. He has written more than a hundred film scripts since 1979, earning for him more than 50 trophies from award-giving bodies...
based on a true incident on a teenage girl in Cabra Island in the province
Provinces of the Philippines
The Provinces of the Philippines are the primary political and administrative divisions of the Philippines. There are 80 provinces at present, further subdivided into component cities and municipalities. The National Capital Region, as well as independent cities, are autonomous from any provincial...
of Occidental Mindoro
Occidental Mindoro
Occidental Mindoro is a province of the Philippines located in the MIMAROPA region in Luzon. "Home of the Indigenous Mangyans". Its capital is Mamburao and occupies the western half of the island of Mindoro, on the west by Apo East Pass, and on the south by the Mindoro Strait; Oriental Mindoro is...
between 1966 and 1967. Sergio Lobo was the Director of Photography.
Himalâ was filmed entirely in the province of Ilocos Norte
Ilocos Norte
Ilocos Norte is a province of the Philippines located in the Ilocos Region in Luzon. Its capital is Laoag City and is located at the northwest corner of Luzon Island, bordering Cagayan and Apayao to the east, and Abra and Ilocos Sur to the south...
in just three weeks with a budget of only ₱
Philippine peso
The peso is the currency of the Philippines. It is subdivided into 100 centavos . Before 1967, the language used on the banknotes and coins was English and so "peso" was the name used...
3 million. The film premiered at the 1982 Metro Manila Film Festival
Metro Manila Film Festival
upright|thumb|320px|Metro Manila Film Festival Official LogoThe Metro Manila Film Festival-Philippines is the annual film festival held in Manila...
, and in 1983, became the first and to date, the only Filipino film to be included in the "Competition Section" of the prestigious Berlin International Film Festival
Berlin International Film Festival
The Berlin International Film Festival , also called the Berlinale, is one of the world's leading film festivals and most reputable media events. It is held in Berlin, Germany. Founded in West Berlin in 1951, the festival has been celebrated annually in February since 1978...
. Since then, Himala has been exhibited in a number of film festival
Film festival
A film festival is an organised, extended presentation of films in one or more movie theaters or screening venues, usually in a single locality. More and more often film festivals show part of their films to the public by adding outdoor movie screenings...
s around the world.
On November 11, 2008, Himalâ won the Viewer's Choice Award for the Best Film of all Time from the Asia-Pacific Region in the 2008 CNN
CNN
Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
Asia Pacific Screen Awards
Asia Pacific Screen Awards
The Asia Pacific Screen Awards is an international cultural initiative of the State Government of Queensland, Australia, through Events Queensland, to honour and promote the films, actors, directors, and cultures of Asia-Pacific to a global audience and to realise the objectives of UNESCO to...
beating out nine other outstanding movies.(voted by thousands of film fans around the world). The ten finalists were chosen by critics, industry insiders and actors—including Bollywood
Bollywood
Bollywood is the informal term popularly used for the Hindi-language film industry based in Mumbai , Maharashtra, India. The term is often incorrectly used to refer to the whole of Indian cinema; it is only a part of the total Indian film industry, which includes other production centers producing...
stars Amitabh Bachchan
Amitabh Bachchan
Amitabh Bachchan is an Indian film actor. He first gained popularity in the early 1970s as the "angry young man" of Hindi cinema, and has since appeared in over 180 Indian films in a career spanning more than four decades...
and Aishwarya Rai
Aishwarya Rai
Aishwarya Rai Bachchan is an Indian film actress. She worked as a model before starting her acting career, and ultimately won the Miss World pageant in 1994...
.
Philippine superstar Nora Aunor
Nora Aunor
Nora "Guy" Aunor is a multi-awarded Filipino actress, singer and producer. Aunor has also topbilled several stage plays, television shows, and concerts. She is regarded as the "Superstar in Philippine Entertainment Industry"...
is best known for her performance in the film as the visionary Elsa. Her portrayal is considered by most Filipino critics as the best of her career.
Subject and impact
Himalâ is the story of Elsa, a barrioBarrio
Barrio is a Spanish word meaning district or neighborhood.-Usage:In its formal usage in English, barrios are generally considered cohesive places, sharing, for example, a church and traditions such as feast days...
lass whose visions of the Virgin Mary changed her life and caused a sensation hysteria
Hysteria
Hysteria, in its colloquial use, describes unmanageable emotional excesses. People who are "hysterical" often lose self-control due to an overwhelming fear that may be caused by multiple events in one's past that involved some sort of severe conflict; the fear can be centered on a body part, or,...
in a poor, isolated village. The film is centered on the issues of religious faith
Faith
Faith is confidence or trust in a person or thing, or a belief that is not based on proof. In religion, faith is a belief in a transcendent reality, a religious teacher, a set of teachings or a Supreme Being. Generally speaking, it is offered as a means by which the truth of the proposition,...
and faithlessness. Elsa, in her speech on the hill, delivered the film's (and Aunor's) most famous line:
"Walang himala!! Ang himala ay nasa puso ng tao, nasa puso nating lahat! Tayo ang gumagawa ng mga himala! Tayo ang gumagawa ng mga sumpa at ng mga diyos..." ("There is no miracle!! The miracles are in people's hearts, in all our hearts! We make the miracles! We are the ones who make curses, gods...")
Himalâ became a box-office hit, earning an impressive PhP 30 million, becoming one of the highest grossing Filipino films
Cinema of the Philippines
Cinema of the Philippines started with the introduction of the first moving pictures to the country on January 1, 1897 at the Salón de Pertierra in Manila. The following year, local scenes were shot on film for the first time by a Spaniard, Antonio Ramos, using the Lumiere Cinematograph...
in the 1980s. Aunor also won several awards for her performance.
Plot summary
The setting is a small town named Cupang, a community set in an aridArid
A region is said to be arid when it is characterized by a severe lack of available water, to the extent of hindering or even preventing the growth and development of plant and animal life...
landscape
Landscape
Landscape comprises the visible features of an area of land, including the physical elements of landforms such as mountains, hills, water bodies such as rivers, lakes, ponds and the sea, living elements of land cover including indigenous vegetation, human elements including different forms of...
. The townsfolk believed that the drought
Drought
A drought is an extended period of months or years when a region notes a deficiency in its water supply. Generally, this occurs when a region receives consistently below average precipitation. It can have a substantial impact on the ecosystem and agriculture of the affected region...
they were having was a curse
Curse
A curse is any expressed wish that some form of adversity or misfortune will befall or attach to some other entity—one or more persons, a place, or an object...
placed on the upon the town for driving away a leper years before.
During a solar eclipse
Solar eclipse
As seen from the Earth, a solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between the Sun and the Earth, and the Moon fully or partially blocks the Sun as viewed from a location on Earth. This can happen only during a new moon, when the Sun and the Moon are in conjunction as seen from Earth. At least...
, Elsa (Aunor), a local young woman, allegedly saw an apparition of the Blessed Virgin Mary atop a barren hill, the same place where her adoptive mother Aling Salíng (Labalan) found her as a baby. Right after, she started healing
Faith healing
Faith healing is healing through spiritual means. The healing of a person is brought about by religious faith through prayer and/or rituals that, according to adherents, stimulate a divine presence and power toward correcting disease and disability. Belief in divine intervention in illness or...
local residents assisted by her friends, Chayong (Centeno) and Sepa (Quiambao), who eventually became part of her "Seven Apostles", including entrepreneur
Entrepreneur
An entrepreneur is an owner or manager of a business enterprise who makes money through risk and initiative.The term was originally a loanword from French and was first defined by the Irish-French economist Richard Cantillon. Entrepreneur in English is a term applied to a person who is willing to...
Mrs. Alba (Palileo). Word spread around and soon pilgrims
Pilgrims
Pilgrims , or Pilgrim Fathers , is a name commonly applied to early settlers of the Plymouth Colony in present-day Plymouth, Massachusetts, United States...
and tourists started arriving in Cupang to visit Elsa's house, distinguished by the big sign "Elsa loves you," to see her. At the same time, enterprising residents of Cupang started businesses like selling religious articles, offering accommodations, among others, capitalizing on the sudden influx of local and foreign patients and tourists.
Orly (Spanky Manikan), a filmmaker, arrived in town to make a documentary
Documentary
A documentary is a creative work of non-fiction, including:* Documentary film, including television* Radio documentary* Documentary photographyRelated terms include:...
about Elsa, interviewing her and people who personally know her. Around the same time, Elsa's childhood friend Nimia (Dueñas), now a prostitute, returned and established a kabaret (a sleazy nightclub
Nightclub
A nightclub is an entertainment venue which usually operates late into the night...
/brothel
Brothel
Brothels are business establishments where patrons can engage in sexual activities with prostitutes. Brothels are known under a variety of names, including bordello, cathouse, knocking shop, whorehouse, strumpet house, sporting house, house of ill repute, house of prostitution, and bawdy house...
) for tourists, which was later ordered closed by the Seven Apostles.
One day, in the church's confessional
Confessional
A confessional is a small, enclosed booth used for the Sacrament of Penance, often called confession, or Reconciliation. It is the usual venue for the sacrament in the Roman Catholic Church, but similar structures are also used in Anglican churches of an Anglo-Catholic orientation, and also in the...
, Orly revealed to the town's Catholic priest (Lamangan) that he saw two drugged youths from Manila
Manila
Manila is the capital of the Philippines. It is one of the sixteen cities forming Metro Manila.Manila is located on the eastern shores of Manila Bay and is bordered by Navotas and Caloocan to the north, Quezon City to the northeast, San Juan and Mandaluyong to the east, Makati on the southeast,...
sexually assaulting Elsa and Chayong on the hill. The filmmaker was holding a tremendous guilt
Guilt
Guilt is the state of being responsible for the commission of an offense. It is also a cognitive or an emotional experience that occurs when a person realizes or believes—accurately or not—that he or she has violated a moral standard, and bears significant responsibility for that...
; instead of helping the two victims, he continued capturing the incident on film, as he needed a scoop
Scoop (term)
Scoop is an informal term used in journalism. The word connotes originality, importance, surprise or excitement, secrecy and exclusivity.Stories likely considered to be scoops are important news, likely to interest or concern many people. A scoop is typically a new story, or a new aspect to an...
for his struggling career.
A cholera
Cholera
Cholera is an infection of the small intestine that is caused by the bacterium Vibrio cholerae. The main symptoms are profuse watery diarrhea and vomiting. Transmission occurs primarily by drinking or eating water or food that has been contaminated by the diarrhea of an infected person or the feces...
epidemic
Epidemic
In epidemiology, an epidemic , occurs when new cases of a certain disease, in a given human population, and during a given period, substantially exceed what is expected based on recent experience...
spread throughout Cupang, with Sepa's two children dying after eating tainted meat at Elsa's house. Chayong then hanged herself because of shame
Shame
Shame is, variously, an affect, emotion, cognition, state, or condition. The roots of the word shame are thought to derive from an older word meaning to cover; as such, covering oneself, literally or figuratively, is a natural expression of shame....
from the assault. Authorities quarantined Elsa's house, closing it off from patients. Elsa blamed herself for all of the deaths and decided to stop healing. Eventually, the patients and tourists stopped coming, leaving the town the way it was before the hoopla.
Elsa started showing signs of pregnancy
Pregnancy
Pregnancy refers to the fertilization and development of one or more offspring, known as a fetus or embryo, in a woman's uterus. In a pregnancy, there can be multiple gestations, as in the case of twins or triplets...
from the rape. Mrs. Alba concluded that it is "Immaculate Conception
Immaculate Conception
The Immaculate Conception of Mary is a dogma of the Roman Catholic Church, according to which the Virgin Mary was conceived without any stain of original sin. It is one of the four dogmata in Roman Catholic Mariology...
" and proclaimed that Elsa is truly blessed. At the exact moment, thunder started roaring in the background, followed by pouring rain. The townspeople rejoiced and played in the rain, convinced that the miracle has returned and that the curse was finally lifted. Mrs. Alba and the crowd returned to Elsa's house and called out to her. She commanded her followers to call everybody to assemble on the hill.
In front of her congregation, Elsa, apprehensive at first, eventually professed that there were no miracles, no sightings of the Virgin, and pleaded that people themselves invent gods, miracles, curses and such. In the middle of her speech, a gun pointed towards her, was fired, hitting her on her chest and a violent stampede ensued. The old and infirm who came to be healed, including children were trampled upon in the mass hysteria. Injuries were everywhere.
Elsa gasped her last breathe in her mother's arms looking towards the sky while Orly and other reporters captured her last moment on their cameras. Wailing and crying ensued after the announcement of her death, and the crowd started gravitating towards her. As Elsa was being taken to a waiting ambulance, her followers lifted her lifeless body overhead, in a crucifix
Crucifix
A crucifix is an independent image of Jesus on the cross with a representation of Jesus' body, referred to in English as the corpus , as distinct from a cross with no body....
position, as the crowd wanted to touch her. Crowds were scampering all over the hill as they followed Elsa down to the car. Against her husband's will, Sepa shouted to the crowd, proclaiming that Elsa was a saint, a martyr for the world's suffering. She led the congregation in praying the Hail Mary
Hail Mary
The Angelic Salutation, Hail Mary, or Ave Maria is a traditional biblical Catholic prayer asking for the intercession of the Virgin Mary, the mother of Jesus. The Hail Mary is used within the Catholic Church, and it forms the basis of the Rosary...
on their knees going up the hill as the ambulance carrying Elsa drove away.
Production
- DirectionFilm directorA film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
: Ishmael BernalIshmael BernalIshmael Bernal was an acclaimed Filipino film, stage and television director. He was also an actor and screenwriter... - StoryStoryStory or Stories may refer to:*Story, a recounting of a sequence of events* Narrative* Bedtime story, a traditional form of storytelling, told to children to prepare them for sleep* Organization story, a narrative used in organization studies...
/ScreenplayScreenplayA screenplay or script is a written work that is made especially for a film or television program. Screenplays can be original works or adaptations from existing pieces of writing. In them, the movement, actions, expression, and dialogues of the characters are also narrated...
: Ricky LeeRicky LeeRicky Lee is a Filipino scriptwriter. He has written more than a hundred film scripts since 1979, earning for him more than 50 trophies from award-giving bodies... - CinematographyCinematographyCinematography is the making of lighting and camera choices when recording photographic images for cinema. It is closely related to the art of still photography...
: Sergio Lobo - MusicFilm scoreA film score is original music written specifically to accompany a film, forming part of the film's soundtrack, which also usually includes dialogue and sound effects...
: Winston Raval - EditingFilm editingFilm editing is part of the creative post-production process of filmmaking. It involves the selection and combining of shots into sequences, and ultimately creating a finished motion picture. It is an art of storytelling...
: Ike Jarlego, Jr. - Sound engineerProduction sound mixerA production sound mixer, location sound recordist, location sound engineer or simply sound mixer is the member of a film crew or television crew responsible for recording all sound recording on set during the filmmaking or television production using professional audio equipment, for later...
: Vic Macamay - Production design: Racquel Villavicencio
- Art directorArt directorThe art director is a person who supervise the creative process of a design.The term 'art director' is a blanket title for a variety of similar job functions in advertising, publishing, film and television, the Internet, and video games....
s: Dennis Cyd, Benjie Garcia and Bing Fabregas - Executive ProducerExecutive producerAn executive producer is a producer who is not involved in any technical aspects of the film making or music process, but who is still responsible for the overall production...
: Charo Santos-ConcioCharo Santos-ConcioMaria Rosario Santos known as Charo Santos-Concio or Charo Santos is a Filipina television executive, host, actress, and film producer who hosts the network's longest-running drama anthology Maalaala Mo Kaya. She is the President of ABS-CBN Corporation, and plays a powerful role in TV and film... - ProducerFilm producerA film producer oversees and delivers a film project to all relevant parties while preserving the integrity, voice and vision of the film. They will also often take on some financial risk by using their own money, especially during the pre-production period, before a film is fully financed.The...
: Bibsy N. Carballo - Associate producer: Trina N. Dayrit
- Production manager: Herman Robles
- Associate directorAssistant directorThe role of an Assistant director include tracking daily progress against the filming production schedule, arranging logistics, preparing daily call sheets, checking cast and crew, maintaining order on the set. They also have to take care of health and safety of the crew...
: Warlito M. Teodoro - Casting and Crowd Director: Joel LamanganJoel LamanganJoel Lamangan is a Filipino film director, television director and actor. He rose to fame in the early 1990s as an auteur dramatic filmmaker. His award-winning films includes Sidhi, Deathrow, Hubog, Aishte Imasu 1941, Blue Moon and Mano Po.On August 19, 2008, Lamangan directed his first indie movie...
Full Cast
- Elsa - Nora AunorNora AunorNora "Guy" Aunor is a multi-awarded Filipino actress, singer and producer. Aunor has also topbilled several stage plays, television shows, and concerts. She is regarded as the "Superstar in Philippine Entertainment Industry"...
- Orly - Spanky Manikan
- Nimia - Gigi Duenas
- Chayong - Laura Centeno
- Aling Saling - Vangie Labalan
- Mrs. Alba - Veronica Palileo
- Sepa - Ama Quiambao
- Igmeng Bugaw - Cris Daluz
- Baldo - Ben Almeda
- Mrs Gonzalez - Aura Mijares
- Priest - Joel Lamangan
- Bino - Ray Ventura
- Pilo - Pen Medina (as Crispin Medina)
- Lolo Hugo - Mahatma Canda
- Narding - Lem Garcellano
- Bella - Stella de Leon
- Lucio - Cesar Dimaculangan
- Mayor - Joe Gruta
- Chief of Police - Tony Angeles
- Nestoy - Richard Arellano
- Intong - Erwin Jacinto
- Aling Pising - Vicky Castillo
- Chua - Tommy Yap
Awards
Himalâ has won numerous awards and distinctions in the Philippines and abroad, including Best Picture from the 1982 Metro Manila Film FestivalMetro Manila Film Festival
upright|thumb|320px|Metro Manila Film Festival Official LogoThe Metro Manila Film Festival-Philippines is the annual film festival held in Manila...
and the 1983 Catholic Mass Media Awards.
At the Manila Film Festival, the movie swept 9 of the 11 awards available. Aunor won the Best Actress trophy for her role in the film at the December local film festival, and was nominated for other top acting awards in the Philippines. She was nominated for Best Actress at the 33rd Berlin International Film Festival
33rd Berlin International Film Festival
The 33rd annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from February 18 to March 3, 1983.-Jury:* Jeanne Moreau * Alex Bänninger* Franco Brusati* Elem Klimov* Ursula Ludwig* Kurt Maetzig* Joseph L...
, where Himalâ vied in the prestigious competition for the Golden Bear
Golden Bear
According to legend, the Golden Bear was a large golden Ursus arctos. Members of the Ursus arctos species can reach masses of . The Grizzly Bear and the Kodiak Bear are North American subspecies of the Brown Bear....
Award. The film was personally handpicked by Festival Director Moritz de Hadeln
Moritz de Hadeln
Moritz de Hadeln is a Swiss documentary Film director and photographer, who became a Film Festival director...
in the official selection.
The film's international honors also included the Bronze Hugo prize at the 1983 Chicago International Film Festival
Chicago International Film Festival
The Chicago International Film Festival is an annual film festival held every fall. Founded in 1964, it is the longest-running competitive film festival in North America....
; it received a special religious citation in the 1983 Asia-Pacific Film Festival held in Taipei, Taiwan; and it was selected as the opening film for the 1983 Manila International Film Festival.
Himalâ was the choice of the Filipino film critics' society Manunuri ng Pelikulang Pilipino
Gawad Urian Awards
The Gawad Urian Awards are annual film awards in the Philippines held since 1977. It is given by the Manunuri ng Pelikulang Pilipino and is currently regarded as the counterpart of the United States' New York Film Critics Circle....
as one of the ten best films of the 1980s. In 2002, the same critics' group named Himalâ one of the best Filipino movies for the last three decades, from 1970 - 1999.
Bernal, the film's director, was conferred the National Artist Award posthumously (he died in 1996). His body of work was accorded the high recognition of Gawad CCP para sa Sining in 1990, and the Centennial Honors for the Arts, on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the Philippine Declaration of Independence
Philippine Declaration of Independence
The Philippine Declaration of Independence occurred on June 12, 1898 in Cavite II el Viejo , Cavite, Philippines. With the public reading of the Act of the Declaration of Independence, Filipino revolutionary forces under General Emilio Aguinaldo proclaimed the sovereignty and independence of the...
and Nationhood in 1998.
Himalâ was the only Filipino film that made it to the shortlist of the Best Asian Films of All Time chosen by CNN International
CNN International
CNN International is an international English language television network that carries news, current affairs, politics, opinions, and business programming worldwide. CNN is one of the world's largest news organizations. It is owned by Time Warner, and is affiliated with CNN, which is mainly...
in 2008. It was cited for its "austere camera work, haunting score and accomplished performances [that] sensitively portray the harsh social and cultural conditions that people in the third world endure." On November 12, 2008 it was announced
1982 Metro Manila Film Festival
- Best Story/Screenplay
- Best Picture
- Best Actress (Aunor)
- Best Supporting Actor (Manikan)
- Best Supporting Actress (Duenas)
- Best Editing
- Best Cinematography
- Best Art Direction
- Best Production Design
1982 Catholic Mass Media Awards
- Best Picture
- Best Screenplay
- Best Supporting Actor
- Best Supporting Actress
Gawad Urian Awards
- One of the Ten Best Films of the 1980s, URIAN (2000)
- One of the Ten Best Films from 1970–1999, URIAN (2002)
Other awards
- Winner, Bronze Hugo Awards, 19th Chicago Film Festival (1983)
- Asia-Pacific Film Festival Special Achievement for Best Depiction of Socially Involved Religion (1983)
- Best Asian-Pacific Movie of All Time, CNN APSA Viewers Choice Award (2008)
Stage version
Screenwriter Ricky Lee collaborated with (the Cultural Center of the PhilippinesCultural Center of the Philippines
The Cultural Center of the Philippines is a government-owned and controlled corporation established to preserve, develop and promote arts and culture in the Philippines. The CCP was established through Executive Order No. 30 s. 1966 by President Ferdinand Marcos...
' resident theatre company Tanghalang Pilipino
Tanghalang Pilipino
Tanghalang Pilipino is the leading exponent of Philippine theater and the resident drama company of the Cultural Center of the Philippines since its organization in 1987...
(TP) to stage a musical version entitled Waláng Himalâ.
Originally, the collaboration intended to stage a "sequel," set twenty years after Elsa was shot (the same time that had lapsed since the movie was shown). It would have starred Nora Aunor in the role of Elsa, establishing her as surviving the gunshot.
However, Aunor was not available and the team went on to produce a musical version of the movie. It was staged in the Huséng Batutè Theatre of the CCP in 2003 in the 20th season of TP. The libretto
Libretto
A libretto is the text used in an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata, or musical. The term "libretto" is also sometimes used to refer to the text of major liturgical works, such as mass, requiem, and sacred cantata, or even the story line of a...
was by Ricky Lee, music and musical direction by Vincent de Jesus
Vincent de Jesus
Vincent Abenojar De Jesus is a Filipino composer, librettist, musical scorer, and musical director for theater, television, and film. He is also a writer, lyricist, actor, singer, and educator.-Biography:...
, lyrics by Vincent de Jesus and Ricky Lee, direction by Soxie Topacio, set and costume design
Costume design
Costume design is the fabrication of apparel for the overall appearance of a character or performer. This usually involves researching, designing and building the actual items from conception. Costumes may be for a theater or cinema performance but may not be limited to such...
by Gino Gonzales, choreography
Choreography
Choreography is the art of designing sequences of movements in which motion, form, or both are specified. Choreography may also refer to the design itself, which is sometimes expressed by means of dance notation. The word choreography literally means "dance-writing" from the Greek words "χορεία" ...
by Jose Jay Cruz and lighting design by Benjamin Villareal, Jr. May Bayot played the role of Elsa together with Isay Alvarez as Nimia, and Cynthia Culig-Guico as Chayong. Bayot won an Alíw Award
Aliw Awards
Aliw Awards by the Aliw Awards Foundation, Inc. was established by the renowned Philippine journalist Alice H. Reyes, to recognize achievements in the live entertainment industry in the Philippines...
for Best Actress in a Musical that year.
Due to popular demand, it was re-staged at the larger Tanghalang Aurélio Tolentino in 2004 in the 21st season of TP with the same artistic team. It went to Shanghai, China in 2008 as the Philippine representative to the Shanghai International Theater Festival. Waláng Himalâ which was the final song in the musical, was featured in CCP's Gala 40th Anniversary Concert "Rubies," performed by mezzo-soprano Clarissa Ocampo
Clarissa Ocampo
Clarissa Ocampo is a Filipino-American mezzo-soprano opera singer. She is best known for her album Cradle Songs and sings professionally in the United States and Asia.- Birth to young adulthood :...
with the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra
Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra
The Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra is the nation's leading symphony orchestra and a resident company of the Cultural Center of the Philippines , located on Manila's shoreline...
, arranged and conducted
Conducting
Conducting is the art of directing a musical performance by way of visible gestures. The primary duties of the conductor are to unify performers, set the tempo, execute clear preparations and beats, and to listen critically and shape the sound of the ensemble...
by Maestro
Maestro
Maestro is a title of extreme respect given to a master musician. The term is most commonly used in the context of Western classical music and opera. This is associated with the ubiquitous use of Italian vocabulary for classical music terms...
Chino Toledo.
The original cast recording
Cast recording
A cast recording is a recording of a musical that is intended to document the songs as they were performed in the show and experienced by the audience. An original cast recording, as the name implies, features the voices of the show's original cast...
, produced by de Jesus, was recorded in 2008 and was released independently in 2009.
Remake
A remake of the film is rumored to be a plan by its director Ricky LeeRicky Lee
Ricky Lee is a Filipino scriptwriter. He has written more than a hundred film scripts since 1979, earning for him more than 50 trophies from award-giving bodies...
with Angel Locsin
Angel Locsin
Angel Locsin is a Filipina television and film actress and commercial model. Aside from this, she is also a film producer and fashion designer....
as Elsa, after her delivery of the film's dialogues in one of Ricky Lee's fan conventions. Ricky Lee himself, said that Angel Locsin
Angel Locsin
Angel Locsin is a Filipina television and film actress and commercial model. Aside from this, she is also a film producer and fashion designer....
would be the perfect choice to play the part of Elsa.