The restored version of the multi-awarded Filipino film, Kisapmata, is slated to be released this August 31, 2020 at the 34th Il Cinema Ritrovato (Recovered Cinema) in Bologna, Italy. The announcement came from Mike De Leon in a social media post by the end of July. De Leon’s post, furthers that the film will have an online premiere after the festival in Italy.

 

 

Kisapmata, with an international title, In the Wink of an Eye, follows the somber tale of a family under the tyrannical rule of its patriarch and the many dark layers of secrecy that envelop the all-knowing house of the Carandangs in Zapote Street. The iconic film features a lean but all-star cast of cinematic gems from stalwarts like Vic Silayan as the overbearing, disturbed father, Charito Solis, who played the restrained wife, Charo Santos as the troubled daughter, and Jay Ilagan, as the newest but oddly, unwelcome addition to the family.

When it first screened at the 7th Metro Manila Film Festival, the film ran away with 9 wins at the prestigious festival’s awarding ceremony, including Best Actor for Silayan, Best Supporting Actress for Solis, Best Supporting Actor for Ilagan, Best Director for De Leon, before eventually snagging the Best Film trophy.

At the Directors’ Fortnight of the 1982 Cannes Film Festival, De Leon managed to present two of his widely-received works, namely Batch ’81 and Kisapmata.

Here’s a teaser of the psychological horror film, if you need a refresher: