‘Bona’ by Lino Brocka to be screened at Cannes 2024

The restored version of the hit 1980 film “Bona” of Lino Brocka is set to premiere at the 2024 Cannes Classics film festival this September.

In an announcement, Cannes said the film topbilled by Nora Aunor and Phillip Salvador is set to screen on September 25 as one of the films under the festival's Restored Prints category.

The movie will be screened along several critically-acclaimed titles such as Steven Spielberg’s “The Sugarland Express,” Jean-Pierre Melville’s “Army of Shadows,” and Jacques de Baroncelli’s “The Rose of the Sea,” among others. 

The Broka film tells the story of a young woman named Bona who becomes infatuated with a movie actor named Gardo (Phillip Salvador). Bona's obsession with Gardo leads her to forsake her family and personal well-being. The film is a poignant exploration of obsession, celebrity culture, and the harsh realities of life in urban Philippines. 

Considered among Brocka’s masterpieces, "Bona" was cited as one of The Best 100 Films in the World by the Museum of Tolerance in Los Angeles, USA in 1997 and has been screened in different film festivals around the world, despite receiving mixed reviews.

This isn’t the first time that Brocka’s movie was screened in Cannes. In 1976, his critically acclaimed movie “Insiang” starring Hilda Koronel premiered at the Director’s Fortnight of the Cannes Festival, making it the first ever Filipino film to debut in the said festival. 

Founded in 1946, the Cannes Film Festival is one of the most prestigious and renowned film festivals in the world held annually in Cannes, France. 

One of the highlights of the Cannes Film Festival is the competition section, where selected films compete for prestigious awards such as the Palme d'Or (Golden Palm), which is the highest prize awarded to the best film of the official competition.  

In 2016, Brillante Mendoza’s award-winning film “Ma Rosa,” was selected to compete for the Palme d'Or. While it didn’t won, its lead star the late Jaclyn Jose took home the Best Actress Award, making her the first Filipino and South East Asian actress to receive such award.