Bona

Middle class school girl Bona (Nora Aunor) skips class to hang around the sets of bit actor Gardo (Philip Salvador). When her father attempts to beat some sense into her, Bona moves into Gardo’s shack in the slums, delighted to play house–only to find herself not the wife, but the maid. Groundbreaking singer, actor, and producer Nora Aunor works with director Lino Brocka to subvert her stardom at the height of her fame. Brocka, following the success of Manila in the Claws of Light (1975) and Insiang (1976), takes her up on the challenge and sets Aunor against his familiar backdrop Manila’s slum, yet steers clear of making poverty the sole focus of the film. Instead, Bona is about blinding adoration and its stranglehold on both the lover and the beloved. Restored from the original camera negatives and available for the first time in more than 40 years, Bona embarks…