MANILA, Philippines - As part of the Rizal@150 celebrations, the 1961 film version of Noli Me Tangere directed by Gerardo de Leon was showcased at selected SM Cinemas nationwide in a joint partnership with the German Embassy, Goethe Institut Manila, the National Historical Commission of the Philippines, the Cultural Center of the Philippines, My Rizal Project and Bayanihan Arriva Productions.
When the only surviving print of Noli Me Tangere was discovered disintegrating and in technical disarray in 1989, the German Embassy and Goethe Institut asked the Federal Foreign office to save the classic. Fruitzer Black Archive in Bonn and the Federal Film Archive in Koblenz collaborated on the project, and with Lufthansa providing freight services; the film was finally restored and returned by the end of the same year.
The Philippine Information Agency produced another print from the restored negatives; and the re-mastered version premiered in 1990 at the Cultural Center of the Philippines. The German Ambassador Peter Scholz later presented the restored film to former President Corazon Aquino in 1991.
Noli Me Tangere’s special screening at the SM Mall of Asia also coincided with the launch of Goethe-Institut’s Commemorative Stamps as part of its 50th Anniversary in the Philippines and Rizal’s 150th Anniversary. There are four stamps in the collection — the first three
stamps, featuring the statue of Jose Rizal in Heidelberg-Wilhemsfled, the fountain that once stood in Pastor Karl Ullmer’s residence where Rizal stayed, and Pastor Karl Ullmer’s former home on Pfargasse Street, pay tribute to Jose Rizal and his influence on German culture. The fourth stamp, which bears the colors of the Philippine and German flags, celebrates the strong cultural ties between the two countries.
Rizal@150 is one of the many exciting events at SM Supermalls.