Abstract
The state-sponsored Manila International Film Festival (MIFF) of the 1980s was among the more controversial film festivals of its time. Boycotted by several guilds due to its connection with the dictatorship of Ferdinand Marcos Sr., the MIFF relied on the presence of renowned Asian filmmakers to legitimize itself. The 1983 iteration of the festival, however, gained notoriety for allowing the release of uncut Filipino erotic films bordering on pornography to compensate for the decreased funding from an almost bankrupt Philippine state. Defending their decision to release titillating pictures, organizers of the MIFF suggested that Filipinos should look at Japanese pink films to see how a mature industry could create beautiful movies through images of sexual desire. Indeed, Japanese films have a significant presence in this festival, with more than half of the featured Japanese productions being of the pink variety. Likewise, articles, reports, and interviews in Marcos-controlled newspapers and magazines highlighted the development and artistry of pink films. Through the discursive analysis of these documents, this study shows how the discourse about pink films illustrates the cultural diplomacy between the Philippines and Japan in the context of the Marcos regime. It argues that the Marcos state used the international acclaim of pink cinema to justify its contradictory film development policies. At the same time, the positive portrayal of pink films in the Philippine press helped soften Japan’s image among Filipinos at a time of rekindling memories of Japanese wartime atrocities due to its reemergence as an economic power.
Author Information
Abel A. Ubaldo, Ateneo de Manila University, Philippines
Paper Information
Conference: KAMC2024
Stream: Gender
This paper is part of the KAMC2024 Conference Proceedings (View)
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To cite this article:
Ubaldo A. (2024) Pink Films at the 1983 Manila International Film Festival: Diplomacy Through Erotic Cinema Between the Philippines and Japan ISSN: 2436-0503 – The Kyoto Conference on Arts, Media & Culture 2024: Official Conference Proceedings (pp. 127-137) https://doi.org/10.22492/issn.2436-0503.2024.12
To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.22492/issn.2436-0503.2024.12
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