Manila in the Claws of Light

Lino Brocka's classic, the most feted film in Filipino cinema, tells the story of a naive 21-year-old fisherman trying to survive in Manila’s corrupt, teeming and polluted urban jungle.

A fascinating portrait of life in Manila’s corrupt, teeming and polluted urban jungle, Manila in the Claws of Light tells the story of Julio, a 21-year-old fisherman who arrives in the Filipino capital looking for his girlfriend. Immediately robbed of what little cash he has, he scrabbles to survive, drifting through a number of temporary jobs, while wandering the city in search of his beloved.

Lino Brocka's 1975 classic is the most feted film in the history of Filipino cinema. It's presented here in a brand new restoration from Martin Scorsese’s World Cinema Project. Restored in 2013 by The Film Foundation World Cinema Project and the Film Development Council of the Philippines at Cineteca di Bologna/L'Immagine Ritrovata laboratory, in association with LVN, Cinema Artists Philippines and Mike de Leon.