# Nunal sa Tubig

A Speck in the Water (Filipino: Nunal Sa Tubig) is a 1976 Philippine drama film written by Jorge Arago and directed by Ishmael Bernal. It tells the story of a love triangle in the impoverished village involving Benjamin (George Estregan), a fisherman in Laguna de Bay, and two women in the villageーChedeng (Daria Ramirez), a soon-to-be midwife, and Maria (Elizabeth Oropesa), a beautiful young woman from the barrio.
It won Best Picture at the 1977 Catholic Mass Media Awards. It received seven nominations from the 1977 Gawad Urian including Best Picture, Best Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Production Design, and Best Sound. Daria Ramirez was nominated for Best Actress, while Bernal as nominated for Best Direction.

## Plot

The village of Sta. Fe, located in the middle of Laguna de Bay, was known for its milkfish pens and some investors from the capital investment for this kind of business to improve and develop this kind of business. However, the fish began to kill off, prompting the villagers to salt them and dry them under the sun for the sake of financial benefit. In the village, a love triangle was formed when Benjamin, the owner of a boat that serves as a shuttle service to the town, fell in love with Chedeng, a soon-to-be full-time trained midwife, and her best friend and neighbor, Maria. Both Chedeng and Maria didn't know that they were loved by Benjamin. By the time Maria got pregnant, Chedeng decides that she will be her first patient to handle her profession of midwifery. Unfortunately, this would lead to a tragic consequence, causing Chedeng to leave the village and live somewhere.

## Cast

* Elizabeth Oropesa as Maria
* Daria Ramirez as Chedeng
* George Estregan as Benjamin
* Ruben Rustia as Pedro
* Pedro Faustino as Jacob
* Ella Luansing as Banang
* Rustica Carpio as Chayong
* Nenita Jana as Adiang
* Ven Medina as Mr. Blanco
* Leticia de Guzman as Ilo
* Tita De Villa as Mrs. Blanco
* Paquito Salcedo as Elder
* Lem Garcellano as Pablo
* Mart Kenneth Rebamonte as Hukluban
* Carlos Padilla Jr. as Dr. Villamaria
* Tony Carreon as Lake Analyst

### Also starring

* Bong Perez
* Joey Bolisay
* Rey TablaIda Bautista
* Al Garcia
* Jimmy Preña
* Erna Menesses
* Ricky Garcia
* Milo Sario
* Santiago Balse

## Production
### Filming

The film was shot in Laguna de Bay which is located in the province of Laguna and the town of Binangonan, Rizal.

### Music

The film's music was composed and arranged by Winston Raval, who was credited as Vanishing Tribe.

## Release

The film was released on August 6, 1976. It was approved for theatrical release by the Board of Censors for Motion Pictures (the predecessor of MTRCB).

### Re-release

The restored version of the film was premiered on August 8, 2018, at the Cultural Center of the Philippines as part of the 14th Cinemalaya Independent Film Festival. The premiere was attended by the film's stars Elizabeth Oropesa and Daria Ramirez, actor Kiko Estrada (grandson of George Estregan), and the staff of the ABS-CBN Film Archives. Modern era film directors Adolfo Alix Jr. and Benedict Mique, Carmona Gale (representing the Kantana Post-Production), Sabrina Baracetti and Max Tessler (of Udine Far East Film Festival), and Ronald Arguelles (Cinema One - Channel Head) also attended the premiere.

### Release dates

| Country | Date | Notes |
| Philippines | August 6, 1976 | Original release date. |
| West Germany | October 16, 1983 | West German television premiere, aired through ZDF. |
| Japan | November 1, 1991 | One of the feature films for Filipino Movies Festival 1991, presented by the ASEAN Cultural Office. |
| Japan | November 2, 2003 | As part of the PIA Film Festival exhibition. |
| Germany | January 20, 2008 | Asian Hot Shots Berlin Festival for Film and Video Art |
| Philippines | August 8, 2018 | Theatrical premiere of the digitally restored and remastered 4K version of the film for Cinemalaya Film Festival. |
| Japan | September 14, 2018 | Restored 4K version. As part of the Tokyo International Film Festival 2018 - Cross-Cut Asia exhibition. |
| Italy | April 27, 2019 | European premiere of the restored version as part of the 21st Udine Far East Film Festival in Udine, Italy. |

## Digital restoration

In the effort of restoring Nunal sa Tubig by the ABS-CBN Film Restoration Project, headed by Leonardo P. Katigbak, the sole element used for the restoration was the Japanese language-subtitled 35mm print that was stored from the audiovisual archives of the Fukuoka City Public Library Film Archives in Fukuoka City, Fukuoka, Japan. The 35mm print has been stored in the institution's archive collections since 2002, in addition to four other Filipino films acquired by the Japan Foundation.
The restoration of the film began with the digital scanning of the 35mm print to 4K resolution by Tokyo Ko-on Co. Ltd. in Tokyo, Japan, and digital restorations by Kantana Post-Production (Thailand). The aspect ratio for the restored version is 1:1.85. It took 3,600 restoration hours to eliminate numerous film defects including dust, scratches, and stains and it was successfully eliminated by more than 250 professional restoration artists of Kantana Post-Production in Thailand and India. The film restoration of Nunal sa Tubig was finished in February 2018.

## Reception
### Accolades

| Year | Award-Giving Body | Category | Recipient | Result |
| 1977 | Catholic Mass Media Awards | Best Picture | Nunal sa Tubig | Won |
| 1977 | FAMAS Awards | Best Picture | Nunal sa Tubig | Nominated |
| 1977 | FAMAS Awards | Best Screenplay | Jorge Arago | Nominated |
| 1977 | FAMAS Awards | Best Director | Ishmael Bernal | Nominated |
| 1977 | FAMAS Awards | Best Actress | Daria Ramirez | Nominated |
| 1977 | FAMAS Awards | Best Cinematography | Arnold Alvaro | Nominated |
| 1977 | FAMAS Awards | Best Production Design | Betty Gosiengfiao | Nominated |
| 1977 | FAMAS Awards | Best Sound | Godofredo De Leon | Nominated |
| 1977 | Gawad Urian Awards | Best Film of the Decade (1970-1979) | Nunal sa Tubig | Honored |

### Critical reception

According to a description by the Manunuri ng Pelikulang Pilipino (Philippine Society of Respected Film Critics), the film employs "a quiet, experimental cinematic style, Ishmael Bernal’s opus recreates the quality and slow pace of life in a dying village surrounded by the sea, as it is caught in the eternal cycle of love and hate, of fertility and pollution, of birth and death."