MANILA, Philippines—A French festival director-consultant is searching for the owner of the rights to Lino Brocka’s “Jaguar,” Inquirer Entertainment learned on Tuesday.

The film was originally owned by Bancom Audiovision, which declared bankruptcy in the 1980s.

Efforts made by Jeremy Segay—French consultant for the Paris Cinema International Film Festival and an expert on Asian cinema—to find a copy of said Brocka classic that is good enough for theatrical release has so far proved unsuccessful, former Ilocos Norte Rep. Imee Marcos told Inquirer Entertainment in a phone interview.

“Jaguar,” the story of Poldo, a righteous man trapped in an immoral world, would have been part of a special section featuring works of 40 Filipino filmmakers in the 6th Paris Cinema IFF set from July 1 to 12.

There are no good copies, either, of Erik Matti’s fantasy film, “Gagamboy,” which Segay had also considered screening for the festival, Marcos reported.

“It’s sad that we don’t have an efficient film archive in the country,” said Marcos, president of Creative Media and Film Society of the Philippines (CreaM).

‘Philippine Day’

On a positive note, July 4 was declared “Philippine Day” by organizers of the Paris Cinema IFF. The festival will pay a special tribute to the Philippines in a forum called “Country of Honor,” according to the website www.pariscinema.org.

“There will also be heavy pitching of story ideas for co-production from July 2 to 4,” said Marcos, who as CreaM president, is doing just that for animated films. “We hope that at least one of the Pinoy productions gets a co-producer.”

Highlight of a Filipino-Spanish Friendship Day to be marked on June 30 will be the screening of a documentary by Spanish filmmaker Jesus Balbuena Garcia on the historic “Siege of Baler” in Aurora Province, said Marcos.

The siege, which lasted for 337 days, was the culmination of the Spanish-American war.

Email mcruz@inquirer.com.ph