Cultural Center of the Philippines to screen 'Dekada '70' for free

The Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) will screen Dekada '70 for free on Thursday, Sept. 19 before the 52nd anniversary of the martial law declaration in the country.

In a Facebook post, CCP's Film, Broadcast, and New Media Division said the 2002 movie, based on the novel of the same name by Lualhati Bautista, will be screened at the GSIS Theater in Pasay at 1 p.m. on a first-come, first-served basis.

There will be a special talkback session after the screening.

The screening is in cooperation with ABS-CBN Sagip Pelikula.

Dekada '70 revolves around the life of the middle-class Bartolome family and their struggles during the dark period in Philippine history.

Amnesty International data showed there were over 3,200 extrajudicial killings, 35,000 tortures, 70 “disappearances” or desaparecidos, and 70,000 imprisoned during the martial law, which was signed on Sept. 21 and declared on Sept. 23, 1972 by Ferdinand E. Marcos.

According to the World Bank and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, the Marcoses siphoned as much as $10 billion (P521.8 billion) from the government coffers during their two-decade rule.

The Marcoses were kicked out of Malacañang through the EDSA People Power in 1986. In the coming years, however, they managed to rehabilitate their image and claw their way back to power.

Bautista's novel, first published in 1983, won the grand prize of the Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards for Literature in the same year.

The 2002 movie adaptation starred Vilma Santos, Christopher de Leon, Piolo Pascual, Marvin Agustin, Danilo Barrios, and John Wayne Sace. It was directed by Chito Roño.

Aside from the 2002 movie, Dekada '70 was also adapted into a musical in 2020 by Ateneo's Doreen Black Box Theater.