Archivists reclaim 2 silent PH films “˜pirated’ by US; film fest opens Friday1 min read
Reading Time: < 1 minuteIt was a “whodunit” involving a movie, probably now worthy of a movie itself.
This movie, “Brides of Sulu,” opens the three-day 5th International Silent Film Festival to be held at the Shang Cineplex of Shangri-La Plaza Mall starting Friday at 6 p.m.
For years, members of the Society of Filipino Archivists for Film (Sofia) have been investigating whether an American B-movie titled “Brides of Sulu,” released in 1934, was actually two Filipino silent films “reedited and assembled together.”
Sofia member Teddy Co likened it to solving a jigsaw puzzle where “almost all of the pieces are already there.”
After painstaking research that bordered on detective work, Co and colleague Dr. Marti Magsanoc believe they have established a connection between “Brides” and Filipino prewar films “Moro Pirates” and “Princess Tarhata,” both produced in 1931.
