*BUNDLE PACKAGE*
3 tickets: $20 || 5 tickets: $30
(U.P. $10 per ticket)

The bundle ticket packages are available for purchase only at Oldham Theatre’s Box Office. The box office will be open one hour before the earliest showtime of the day on Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.

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Directed by: Mike de Leon
Runtime: 98 min
Country: Philippines
Language: Tagalog with English subtitles
Rating: NC16 (Some Violence and Coarse Language)
Restored Version

University student Sid Lucero dreams of joining the Alpha Kappa Omega fraternity, known for its brutal initiation rites. After being accepted, he bears witness to escalating acts of violence, obscenity and degradation perpetrated by the fraternity’s seniors. Their brotherhood is put to the ultimate test when conflicts arise with a rival fraternity.

Awards

BEST PICTURE & BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Luna Awards (Film Academy of the Philippines Awards) 1983

BEST SCREENPLAY & BEST EDITING
Gawad Urian Awards (Filipino Film Critics Awards) 1983

Archivist Notes

Hailed as one of the greatest Filipino films of all time, Batch ’81 is an unflinching study of the inherent sadomasochism of college fraternity traditions, a metaphor for the Philippines under the Marcos regime.

Mike de Leon was the first Asian director to donate his works to the Asian Film Archive (AFA) in 2005, a collection which included Kakabakaba Ka Ba? (1980), Kisapmata (1981), and Bayaning Third World (1999). AFA’s collection of Filipino films also includes other important works, such as Lino Brocka’s Manila in the Claws of Light (1975) and Lamberto V. Avellena’s A Portrait of the Artist as Filipino (1965). AFA’s preservation of the film elements of both of these titles made it possible for The World Cinema Project and the Film Development Council of the Philippines to carry out their respective restorations of each title.

Restoration Info

The restoration of Batch ’81 was made possible using the 35mm original camera negative, a positive print and the original sound negative from the Asian Film Archive Collection, preserved since 2005.

The negative was affected by vinegar syndrome, developed haloes and mould, and contained dominant green-hued defects on the emulsion. Parts of the negative were unusable and had to be integrated with shots from the positive print.

The film elements were scanned and digitally restored at 4K resolution by L’Immagine Ritrovata in 2016.

The film’s director Mike de Leon, and the film’s cinematographer Rody Lacap, supervised the colour grading. This was the first restoration of a Filipino film undertaken by the Asian Film Archive. In 2017, the restored film had its world premiere at the Venice Classics section of the 74th Venice International Film Festival.

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If you have any trouble purchasing your tickets, please contact us at info@asianfilmarchive.org 

*Concession tickets apply to Students (Local & Overseas), Full-time National Servicemen (NSF), Senior Citizens (55 years and above) only.
*Please check film ratings before purchase of tickets. Please note that you may be asked to present your ID at the door (this applies to concession tickets as well).