Vlad Bunoan

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Diwata ng Karagatan

Jeff Canoy

ABS-CBN News

<div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1761903144885572812465_4169268539997091_6250037242317296871_n.jpg" style="width:950px" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/>A scene from &#x27;Diwata ng Karagatan.&quot; Nick Deocampo/Facebook</div>MANILA — An important piece of Filipino history missing for almost 90 years and thought to be lost forever was just found in Belgium.Film historian and filmmaker Nick Deocampo shared on social media that “Diwata ng Karagatan” has been located at the Royal Belgian Film Archive or Cinematek.Directed by Carlos Vander Tolosa, the film starred pre-war screen icons Mari Velez and Rogelio dela Rosa. It was first released in 1936 and was exported to Europe in 1939, dubbed in different languages and screening under different titles. In its French version, the film was released as &quot;Wong Le Tyrant.” “Since after its last exhibition at Fox Theater in Manila, nothing has been heard of it until the war broke out in 1941. All movies in Manila disappeared with the war. Thankfully, a copy of the film has now been found abroad,” Deocampo said.The hunt for the film has been a holy grail of sorts for Filipino film historians and archivists as a copy of the “Diwata ng Karagatan” has been long-rumored to exist in Europe but has never been seen.“Using my personal money to buy a plane ticket… I linked-up with the daughter of a pioneering Ilonggo-language film director, Louise Baterna, to liaise with the Cinémathèque royale de Belgique in finding the film,” Deocampo said in his post.“On October 28, we found ourselves watching the only-known existing copy of the vintage movie being played on a Steenbeck editing machine. We were accommodated at the venue by Hugo Mestdagh, coordinator for digital film collection and restoration. The film exists only in a 35 mm print, as no copy has yet been digitized ever since a nitrate original was deposited at the archive by the now-closed Belgian film laboratory CineLabor in 2016.”<div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1761903279510574850564_4169268513330427_6680901566968635924_n.jpg" style="width:950px" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/>The film was released under various French titles, including &#x27;Ligaya, fille des îles.&#x27; Nick Deocampo/Facebook</div>The discovery of “Diwata ng Karagatan” is historic in that it is now the oldest surviving Filipino film produced by one of the pioneering forces of Philippine cinema, Jose Nepomuceno.Before World War 2, the Philippines was one of Asia’s most influential and leading producers of film in the world.Previously, there have only been a few pre-war films on record thought to have survived the war and the lack of institutional archiving in the country: &quot;Zamboanga&quot; (1937), &quot;Giliw Ko&quot; (1939), &quot;Tunay na Ina&quot; (1939), &quot;Pakiusap&quot; (1940), and &quot;Ibong Adarna&quot; (1941).According to Deocampo, it was a difficult task to hunt down a copy of “Diwata Ng Karagatan” because of piracy — a practice done even during the pre-war era.“‘Diwata ng Karagatan’ fell victim to this unscrupulous practice when a copy presumably owned by a French distributor was re-edited and later released in the French-speaking market. It was claimed to be a French production, which it was not,” Deocampo said.“The film was cut down to its present running time of only 52 minutes from a possibly longer version by a French film promoter, a certain Gabriel Pallu. In claiming the film to be a French production, scenes in the film were jumbled, with some elements now missing, and all the names erased of the Filipinos credited to have made the film.”According to Deocampo, there was an attempt to erase the film’s credits and its Filipino origins.“Louise Baterna and I found it heartbreaking to find only a long black leader at the end of the film where names of Filipinos once appeared in the closing credits. The ending was all blacked-out while the theme music continued to play. This was evidently a clear case of filmic and cultural erasure.No credit could also be found of the actors, as the film was claimed to be a ‘documentary’ of some exotic South-sea natives, a popular topic in the thirties.”<div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1761903345330572038683_4169268543330424_6561780996363286433_n.jpg" style="width:950px" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/>Nick Deocampo. Nick Deocampo/Facebook</div>Deocampo hopes that more “lost” Filipino films will be found abroad.“Still, until now, no real effort has been made to find Filipino films abroad. My effort is a personal one driven by my love for Philippine cinema and fueled by my scholarly interest in Filipino film history. Who would be crazy enough to jump on a plane using personal funds to go to Belgium without fully knowing if a copy of the film was there? But the gamble paid off.“

Filipino film historian and director Nick Deocampo announced that "Diwata ng Karagatan," a 1936 film produced by Philippine cinema pioneer José Nepomuceno, has been found at the Cinémathèque Royale de Belgique.

Filipino film historian and director Nick Deocampo announced that "Diwata ng Karagatan," a 1936 film produced by Philippine cinema pioneer José Nepomuceno, has been found at the Cinémathèque Royale de Belgique.

Long-lost Filipino film made in 1936 ‘Diwata ng Karagatan’ found in Belgium archive

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Long-lost Filipino film made in 1936 ‘Diwata ng Karagatan’ found in Belgium archive

Jeff Canoy,

ABS-CBN News

Published October 31, 2025 05:42 PM PHT

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Updated October 31, 2025 07:32 PM PHT

Read More:

Nick Deocampo

Diwata ng Karagatan

Jose Nepomuceno

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