MANILA, PHILIPPINES, APRIL 7, 2022 —- The book Ang Daigdig ng mga Api: Remembering a Lost Film written by noted author, playwright, screenwriter, and film scholar Clodualdo “Doy” Del Mundo Jr., and co-published by the Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP) with the De La Salle University (DLSU) Press, was launched yesterday, April 6, 2022 in an in-person program held at the Cinematheque Centre Manila. 

Del Mundo's latest book takes inspiration from National Artist Gerardo De Leon’s important and now non-extant 1965 film Ang Daigdig ng mga Api, gathering the film’s surviving materials including its original sequence treatment, anecdotes from the cast and crew, and on-set photographs on one of the national artist’s best films. The film is now forever lost due to the unavailability of effective and efficient archiving facilities at the time.

The film premiered at the first Manila Film Festival in 1966 where it garnered eight awards, including Best Picture and Best Director. The film starring Robert Arevalo and Barbara Perez was considered a poignant social commentary of its time, made with the known craftsmanship and cinematic style of its filmmaker. From its original posters, it tells of “the story of millions of Filipinos living in penury” and follows the stories of agricultural workers in the hands of their overseer and landlord. 

Among those present in the in-person event were FDCP Chairperson and CEO Liza Diño-Seguerra, master director Dik Trofeo, FDCP Philippine Film Archive (PFA) Manager Don Gervin Arawan, Gerardo De Leon's daughter Baby Ilagan, "Ang Daigdig ng mga Api" actors Leni Alano and Ruben Ilagan, Society of Filipino Archivists for Film (SOFIA) President Rose Roque, film curator and archivist Teddy Co, actor Ronaldo Valdez, and Cultural Center of the Philippines' Art Director Chris Millado.

FDCP Chairperson Diño-Seguerra in her opening remarks notes, “Films are part of our cultural heritage. Losing National Artist Gerry de Leon’s Daidig ng mga Api to oblivion is a great loss not just for us but also for the following generations who will not anymore get to experience watching this masterpiece of a film. Creating a book on Daigdig ng mga Api lessens the sorrow of losing it. The FDCP is looking forward to engaging in more partnerships toward the preservation of Filipino films. To archive is to rescue, to save from being forgotten. It is at the core of FDCP’s mandate to help in this goal through the help of the PFA. This book will be a sparkling addition to the PFA library.

Del Mundo remarks thoughtfully on the making of the book project on the lost masterpiece, “Sa pag-aala ng nakaraan, laging may kalungkutan, lalo na kung tungkol sa isang bagay na wala na. Nasa ala-ala na lamang. Wala na ang pelikula (Ang Daigdig ng mga Api), masaya pa ring alalahanin na noong 1965 ay may ginawang pelikula na maipagmamalaki natin, na pumukaw sa mga manonood, at tumalakay sa kalagayan ng ating mga magsasaka.”

Clodualdo Del Mundo, Jr. is a stalwart of Philippine Cinema history and creative development. He had an extensive working relationship with FDCP going back to the times of the Cinema Evaluation Board where he served as Reviewer and member of the Board and in FDCP’s educational events more recently.