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The Haunting of Manila Film Center
The Manila Film Center, believed to have a tragic past, was once the centerpiece of the Manila International Film Festival, akin to the Cannes Film Festival in France.
Then disaster struck
The original goal was to make Manila the East’s cultural hub and a metropolis that could compete with France and its Cannes Film Festival.
Imelda Marcos, the first lady, expected her goal to be accomplished in 1981. And she was able to get whatever she desired at that moment. Similar to the time she chose a magnificent theater to hold the Miss Universe Pageant in 1974. Leandro Locsin, a national artist for architecture, designed the Folk Arts Theater, which was finished in a record-breaking 77 days.
Imelda saw the Philippines strategically positioned to serve as a global film market. An international film festival in Manila seemed sensible.
East and West, left and right, rich and poor are all present. In a news conference held before the event, she declared, “We are neither here nor there.
The Film Center, designed by Froilan Hong and conceptualized by Ramon M. Ignacio, a former senior technology officer of the Technical Resource Center, would be the show’s star during the Manila International Film Festival. The Parthenon, a temple dedicated to the goddess Athena in…
