Nunal sa Tubig
A Speck in the Water is a 1976 Philippine drama film written by Jorge Arago and directed by Ishmael Bernal. It tells the story of a love triangle in the impoverished village involving Benjamin, a fisherman in Laguna de Bay, and two women in the villageーChedeng, a soon-to-be midwife, and Maria, a beautiful young woman from the barrio.
It won Best Picture at the 1977 Catholic Mass Media Awards. It received seven nominations from the 1977 Gawad Urian including Best Picture, Best Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Production Design, and Best Sound. Daria Ramirez was nominated for Best Actress, while Bernal as nominated for Best Direction.
Plot
The village of Sta. Fe, located in the middle of Laguna de Bay, is known for its milkfish pens. Investors provide the capital investment to improve and develop this kind of business. However, the fish began to die off, prompting the villagers to salt them and dry them under the sun for financial benefit. In the village, a love triangle forms when Benjamin, owner of a boat that serves as a shuttle service to the town, falls in love both with Chedeng, a soon-to-be full-time trained midwife, and her best friend and neighbor, Maria. Neither Chedeng nor Maria know the other is involved with Benjamin. When Maria gets pregnant, Chedeng decides Maria will be her first patient. Unfortunately, this leads to a tragic consequence, causing Chedeng to leave the village to live somewhere else.Cast
- Elizabeth Oropesa as Maria
- Daria Ramirez as Chedeng
- George Estregan as Benjamin
- Ruben Rustia as Pedro
- Pedro Faustino as Jacob
- Ella Luansing as Banang
- Rustica Carpio as Chayong
- Nenita Jana as Adiang
- Ven Medina as Mr. Blanco
- Leticia de Guzman as Ilo
- Tita De Villa as Mrs. Blanco
- Paquito Salcedo as Elder
- Lem Garcellano as Pablo
- Mart Kenneth Rebamonte as Hukluban
- Carlos Padilla Jr. as Dr. Villamaria
- Tony Carreon as Lake Analyst
Also starring
- Bong Perez
- Joey Bolisay
- Rey TablaIda Bautista
- Al Garcia
- Jimmy Preña
- Erna Menesses
- Ricky Garcia
- Milo Sario
- Santiago Balse
Production
Filming
The film was shot in Laguna de Bay which is located in the province of Laguna and the town of Binangonan, Rizal.Music
The film's music was composed and arranged by Winston Raval, who was credited as Vanishing Tribe.Release
The film was released on August 6, 1976. It was approved for theatrical release by the Board of Censors for Motion Pictures.Re-release
The restored version of the film was premiered on August 8, 2018, at the Cultural Center of the Philippines as part of the 14th Cinemalaya Independent Film Festival. The premiere was attended by the film's stars Elizabeth Oropesa and Daria Ramirez, actor Kiko Estrada, and the staff of the ABS-CBN Film Archives. Modern era film directors Adolfo Alix Jr. and Benedict Mique, Carmona Gale, Sabrina Baracetti and Max Tessler, and Ronald Arguelles also attended the premiere.Digital restoration
In the effort of restoring Nunal sa Tubig by the ABS-CBN Film Restoration Project, headed by Leonardo P. Katigbak, the sole element used for the restoration was the Japanese language-subtitled 35mm print that was stored from the audiovisual archives of the Fukuoka City Public Library Film Archives in Fukuoka City, Fukuoka, Japan. The 35mm print has been stored in the institution's archive collections since 2002, in addition to four other Filipino films acquired by the Japan Foundation.The restoration of the film began with the digital scanning of the 35mm print to 4K resolution by Tokyo Ko-on Co. Ltd. in Tokyo, Japan, and digital restorations by Kantana Post-Production (Thailand). The aspect ratio for the restored version is 1:1.85. It took 3,600 restoration hours to eliminate numerous film defects including dust, scratches, and stains and it was successfully eliminated by more than 250 professional restoration artists of Kantana Post-Production in Thailand and India. The film restoration of Nunal sa Tubig was finished in February 2018.