Biyaya ng Lupa (1959, LVN Pictures) Directed by Manuel Silos Written by Celso Al. Carunungan and Pablo Aval Filipino Academy Movie Arts and Sciences (FAMAS) Best Picture Biyaya ng Lupa (Blessings of the Land) also competeted at the 10th Berlin International Film Festival and the Asian Film Festival held in Tokyo, Japan, in 1960. An adeptly-crafted family melodrama, Biyaya ng Lupa follows a family from their bucolic beginning and struggles as they go through. Mababangong Bangungot (1997) Written and directed by Kidlat Tahimik Mababangong Bangungot (Perfurmed Nightmare) is one of the earliest independent films, made with a shoestring budget. Despite being rough and uneven, it earned substantial critical acclaim. Mababangong Bangungot tells the story of a young Filipino jeepney driver in a rural village, who dreams of going to the West, particularly, America, and has an interest in rockets and space travel. He eventually gets to Paris and works in a gumball company. Gradually, his dream turns into disillusionment. Anak Dalita (1956, LVN Pictures) Directed by Lamberto V. Avellana Written by Rolf Bayer Anak Dalita (Child of Sorrow; also known as The Ruins) is one of the best known films of National Artist of Cinema and Theater Lamberto V. Avellana and is one of the earliest Filipino works that won and international award, the Golden Harvest Award at the 1956 Asian Film Festival. The main setting is the ruins of the Recoletos Church in Intramuros, where people have taken shelter and a slum developed. Manila By Night (City After Dark) (1980, Regal Films) Written and directed by Ishmael Bernal Manila by Night is the most acclaimed of National Artist for Cinema Ishmael Bernal’s films with its original structure and unflinching depiction of Manila’s oft-ignored grimy and dark side. He chose to feature characters considered “unsavory” such as sex workers, gays, drug addicts, and criminals, with the city itself serving as another character.