MANILA – Former ABS-CBN executive Charo Santos-Concio, Sen. Imee Marcos and screen veteran Nora Aunor, who were part of the iconic Filipino film 'Himala', reunited Saturday at the sidelines of the 70th FAMAS Awards.

"Imee, Nora Aunor and I had a reunion photo backstage. Imee was my boss in the Experimental cinema when we did the now classic HIMALA," Santos-Concio told ABS-CBN News on Sunday.

Their photo was shared by Marcos on her verified Instagram page, which she captioned: “3 Dekada '70 FAMAS Babies na sina Sen. Imee Marcos, Superstar National Artist Nora Aunor, Charo Santos- Reunited; Ubra pa daw kaya mag-comeback movie together? Anong say nyo?”

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Aunor, known as the Philippine showbiz industry's Superstar, headlined the 1982 classic 'Himala', with Santos-Concio as executive producer.

“As you know, in the 80’s, Imee headed the ECP (Experimental Cinema of the Philippines). ECP launched a scriptwriting contest and chose ‘Himala’ of Ricky Lee and ‘Oro Plata Mata’ of Peque Gallaga as winners. These were produced into films, now classics,” Santos-Concio said.

“ECP got me to produce these, followed by ‘Soltero’ and ‘Misteryo sa Tuwa.’ Imee was my boss. She was very professional and entrusted me with the work. These were restored by ABS-CBN archives,” she added.

Written by Lee and directed by Ishmael Bernal, "Himala" revolves around barrio lass Elsa (Aunor) who claims to have the power to heal after seeing the Blessed Virgin Mary. As Elsa’s fame spreads, the faithful masses descend on her barrio and unravel its moral foundations.

In a Cinema One documentary about the film, Marcos spoke about producing the Filipino masterpiece and how it came to life.

“The ECP at that time ay itinatag to promote Filipino film and to produce films that would not otherwise have been produced regarding Filipino culture and society… So yun nga ang pangarap namin, magkaroon ng scriptwriting contest at yung pinakamaganda ay talagang mapro-produce,” she recalled.

“Ang daming nagpasa… merong nagbanggit, ‘Ito maganda ito, kay Ricky Lee daw pero hindi pwede i-produce ito eh, undoable.’ Yung topic religion; eh, type ko yun. Religion major ako. Talagang parati kong inaaral, kulto. Ewan ko ba, naging personal na. Naniniwala kasi ako diyan, napaka-Pilipino niyan. Kasi ang Pilipino kailangan talaga may paniniwala, may hinahangaan, may inaasahang himala," she added.

Marcos, whose father, Ferdinand Marcos Sr., served as president from 1965 until 1986, was director-general of the ECP at that time.

"Imee, as the leader of the project, the leader of the team, she had the vision of launching that scriptwriting contest, and from there, choosing the film that would enter the international film festival, which was project of then First Lady Imelda Marcos," Santos-Concio said in the documentary.

Aunor, for her part, shared about a dream she had weeks prior to landing the role of Elsa.

“Mga two weeks bago in-offer sa akin yung pelikula, nanaginip kasi ako. Basta nakaluhod ako sa isang altar, nakaharap ako sa cross. Sa right side ko, si Mama Mary. Pagtingin na pagtingin ko kay Mama Mary, ngumiti siya nang pagkaganda-gandang ngiti talaga,” she said in the documentary.

“After three weeks, dumating yung offer na gagawin ko yung ‘Himala.’ Nagulat ako dahil ito yung napanaginipan ko kaya hindi ako talaga nagdalawang isip na tanggapin yun. Siyempre si Kuya Ricky (Lee) ang sumulat, alam kong maganda yung pelikula,” she added.

ABS-CBN restored Himala in 2012, and some other classics.

• The 'miracle' behind 'Himala' HD restoration

On Saturday, Santos-Concio claimed the FAMAS Best Actress plum for the movie "Kun Maupay Man It Panahon", while Aunor (along with Lee) was conferred with the FAMAS Natatanging Alagad ng Sining. Marcos was named Exemplary Awardee in Public Service.

• FAMAS: Charo Santos wins Best Actress, 'Katips' takes Best Picture

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