A holy grail of Filipino cinema survived war, time, and neglect—now it needs YOU.
"Ang Pagbabalik ng Ibong Adarna,” looks into our lost film history and the fight to restore and protect films for the future generations. It focuses on “Ibong Adarna,” one of only six surviving pre-war Filipino movies and the first Filipino film partially made with color. Jeff also follows the story of Mila, one of the movie queens during the golden age of Philippine Cinema, who passionately fought to protect the industry she loved.
Direction
Jet Leyco weaves personal testimony with urgent archival mission.
Editing
Elegant crosscuts between 1941 production and modern restoration struggle.
Production
Access to legendary film historian Nick Deocampo.
Director
Jet Leyco
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Ibong Adarna was shot on unstable, highly flammable nitrate stock—the same material that fueled the infamous 1937 Fox vault fire that destroyed most pre-1930s Hollywood films.
The Philippines lost an estimated 95% of its pre-war cinema to Japanese occupation fires, tropical climate, and simple neglect—making survivors like Ibong Adarna almost miraculous.
No ratings yet
Sign in to join the discussion — comments are spoiler-gated to your watch progress.
Discussion starters
PH
