Minsa'y Isang Gamu-Gamo (Once a Moth) by Lupita Aquino-Kashiwahara

Written by multi-awarded Filipina screenwriter Marina Feleo Gonzalez, who passed away in Minneapolis earlier this year, this special screening honors Gonzalez’s legacy and life with one of her most acclaimed films. Presented in partnership with Filipinx for Immigrants Rights and Racial Justice in Minnesota (FIRM) and Philippine Study Group of MN.  

Produced during martial law and heavily scrutinized by censors at the time, Once a Moth explores the complex dynamics between the “American Dream” and the impact of post-colonial relations. Set near the US Clark Air Base in Pampanga in the 1970’s, the film follows a young Filipina (played by Nora Aunor) whose plans to be a nurse in the U.S. are irrevocably altered when tragedy strikes her family. Now widely recognized as a landmark of Philippine cinema, this tense, socio-political drama was reportedly used in the 1970s to onboard U.S. Embassy employees assigned in Manila. The film was restored in 2018 by the ABS-CBN Film Restoration Project (Sagip Pelikula). 1976, Philippines, digital, Tagalog with English subtitles, 110 min.