Nunal sa Tubig

The village of Sta. Fe, located in the middle of Laguna de Bay, is known for its milkfish pens. Investors provide the capital investment to improve and develop this kind of business. However, the fish began to die off, prompting the villagers to salt them and dry them under the sun for financial benefit. In the village, a love triangle forms when Benjamin, owner of a boat that serves as a shuttle service to the town, falls in love both with Chedeng, a soon-to-be full-time trained midwife, and her best friend and neighbor, Maria. Neither Chedeng nor Maria know the other is involved with Benjamin. When Maria gets pregnant, Chedeng decides Maria will be her first patient. Unfortunately, this leads to a tragic consequence, causing Chedeng to leave the village to live somewhere else.

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• 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

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

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

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

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).

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.{{cite web |url=http://www.cinemalaya.org/nunal-sa-tubig/|title=Nunal sa Tubig|date=August 9, 2018 |website=Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival |access-date=January 9, 2020}} 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.

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.{{cite web |url=http://toshokan.city.fukuoka.lg.jp/english/filmarchivecollection/asianfilms.htm|title=FILM ARCHIVE COLLECTION: Asian Films|website=Fukuoka City Public Library Film Archives|access-date=September 19, 2021}}

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.{{cite web |url=https://restorationasia.org/history/restoration-asia-vi/|title=Restoration Asia VI|date=September 1, 2018 |website=Restoration Asia |access-date=January 9, 2020}}

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."

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• {{IMDb title|tt0164792|Nunal sa Tubig}}
• [https://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b74ea77ef Nunal sa Tubig (Speck in the Water)]{{dead link|date=January 2025|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}} at British Film Institute
• {{Tcmdb title|id=524907|title=Nunal sa Tubig}}

{{Ishmael Bernal}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Speck In The Water}}

Category:1976 drama films

Category:1976 films

Category:Films directed by Ishmael Bernal

Category:Star Cinema drama films

Category:Star Cinema films

Category:Tagalog-language films

Category:Films set in Rizal (province)

Category:Films shot in Rizal