Filipino historian discovers oldest surviving Filipino film 'Diwata ng Karagatan' from 1936

Filipino film historian Nick Deocampo discovered "Diwata ng Karagatan" (1936) at the Cinémathèque Royale de Belgique in Belgium, making it the oldest surviving Filipino film.

Deocampo personally funded his trip to Brussels to verify the film's existence, collaborating with Louise Baterna.

The 35 mm nitrate print was deposited at the archive nearly a decade ago by the now-closed Belgian film laboratory CineLabor.

Prior to this discovery, the oldest surviving pre-war Filipino film was "Zamboanga" (1937), which Deocampo also recovered.

"Diwata ng Karagatan" will celebrate its 90th anniversary next year and was re-premiered after successful exhibitions abroad.

The film's last known exhibition was at the Fox Theater in Manila before the destruction of movies during the war.