Sakada(film)

Sakada
Directed by	Behn Cervantes
Screenplay by	Lualhati Bautista
Story by	Oscar Miranda
Starring	Alicia Alonzo Robert Arevalo Hilda Koronel Bembol Roco Gloria Romero Pancho Magalona Rosa Rosal Tony Santos Sr. Joseph Sytangco Menggie Cobarubbias
Cinematography	Edmund Cupcupin
Edited by	Edgardo Vinarao
Music by	Lucio San Pedro
Production company	Sagisag Films
Distributed by	Sagisag Films
Release date	February 20, 1976(1976-02-20)
Running time	119 minutes
Country	Philippines
Languages	Filipino English Spanish

Sakada(The Tenants,alsoSeasonal Sugarcane Workers)is a 1976 Philippine social-realist film about the ordeals of sugarcane farmers on the island ofNegrosin the Philippines. It is "a thinly-veiled criticism of the country's feudal power structure."The film was directed byBehn Cervantesand written by Oscar Miranda (story) andLualhati Bautista(screenplay). Music was done byLucio San Pedro.It starredAlicia Alonzo,Robert Arevalo,Hilda Koronel,Pancho Magalona,Bembol Roco,Gloria Romero,Rosa Rosal,andTony Santos Sr.

The movie spent three weeks in theaters before Philippine dictatorFerdinand Marcosordered the military to seize copies of the film.The director was also arrested under the order of Marcos.Sakadawas first screened on Philippine television in 2005.

Musical scorer Lutgardo Labad described the film as "a major cinematic coup that unearthed the inhuman conditions of our people then."

Cast

Cast

• Alicia Alonzoas Aurora del Mundo
• Robert Arevaloas Salvador "Badong" del Mundo
• Hilda Koronelas Ester del Mundo
• Pancho Magalonaas Don Manuel Montemayor
• Bembol Rocoas David
• Gloria Romeroas Doña Consuelo Montemayor
• Rosa Rosalas Dolores del Mundo
• Tony Santos Sr. as Arsenio "Arsing" del Mundo
• Joseph Sytangco as Juan Miguel Montemayor
• Menggie Cobarrubiasas Andres
• Cris Michelena as Alex
• Nena Perez Rubio as Nelia
• Mervyn Samson as Contreras
• Cris Vertido as Father Vic

Plot

The movie follows the life ofNegrensesakadas(Spanish:sacadas), or seasonal sugarcane farmers, and theasenderos (Spanish:hacenderos) who own theplantations.Unrest ensues after asakadais shot to death by one of the plantation's security guards.As the story unfolds, the movie reveals the exploitative feudal agricultural system of the time.

Production

Sakadawas the first film by director Behn Cervantes and scriptwriter Lualhati Bautista.It was filmed under time pressure and budget constraints. As a first-time film director, Cervantes said that he had to deal with technical problems. Time and budget constraints prevented the production from doing reshoots.

Sakadawas produced and screened in 1976 while thePhilippineswas under martial law under Ferdinand Marcos. AfterSakada'sthird week of screening in Philippine cinemas, copies of the film were seized and the director was arrested and detained under the order of Marcos.

After Cervantes' detention, he wrote in a letter to his family dated January 19, 1978, "My movie,Sakada,and my plays, especially the last one,PagsambangBayan,show the exploitative nature of this system, the evils the ruling class commit on the many, the need to change the order of things. "

Sakadawas first shown on television on June 25, 2005, on ABCinema, three decades after prints were seized by the military from movie theaters. ABCinema aimed to feature "only the best local and foreign films that will make the Filipino audience more aware of their culture." In an interview, Cervantes was asked about how young audiences in 2005 could relate toSakada.He said society's problems "remain the sameand most of the time we change leaders but they're the same dogs with different collars. "

Reception

Musical scorer Lutgardo Labad describedSakadaas "a major cinematic coup that unearthed the inhuman conditions of our people then."

Film critic Mel Tobias wrote that "any book on Filipino films would be incomplete without mentioningSakada. "He wrote that the film "was a cry to the people and the government to awaken to the serious labor problems in the Philippines. In the process, it stimulated the often infantile movie producers to acknowledge this unorthodox film, made contrary to the traditional formula of Philippine moviemaking."He also praised the performance of the star-studded cast, particularly of Rosa Rosal, "a versatile actress, [who] made a sensational comeback in her portrayal of a sentimental widow. She is driven to become a leader of the sakadas in their fight for reform."

"The film, with its searing focus on the desperate plight of seasonal sugarcane workers, was an eye-opener for most viewers lulled by the martial law era's siren call of 'the true, the good and the beautiful,'" wrote anInquirereditorial.

Sakadawas made at a time of strict censorship, according to Philippine national artist for literatureBienvenido Lumbera,yet "the ingenuity of scriptwriters and directors was able to offer movie-goers works that went beyond entertainment and tackled subject matter with social implications." In the essay "Terror and Culture under Marcos' New Society," Lumbera wrote thatSakada"exposed the abuses and injustices committed bylandlords in cahoots with the militaryin the suppression of the peasant struggle for higher wages and better treatment. "

Sakada,in 1981, won a Dekada Award for Best Film of the Decade.

See also

• Gawad Urian Award
• 5th Gawad Urian Awards
• List of films about martial law in the Philippines

External links

• SakadaatIMDb