MANILA — The University of the Philippines Film Institute (UPFI) has lined up four courses on Martial Law this coming academic year, ranging from genre studies to contemporary work, the film school announced on Monday.

Three special topics and one film seminar will be offered for the 1st semester of AY 2022-2023, and are open to all UP Diliman students, UPFI said.

The special topics courses (Film 196) are: “The Semiotics of Martial Law and its Cinema” by Prof. Nick Deocampo, “HORRORS!” by Prof. Ed Cabagnot, and “Martial Law and Pinoy Cinema, Noon at Ngayon” by Prof. Sari Dalena.

The film seminar, meanwhile, is “Cinema, Martial Law and Historical Revisionism” (Film 180), by Prof. Roland Tolentino.

“The Semiotics of Martial Law and its Cinema” will investigate the “cinema that emerged during the military regime and the period of its aftermath leading to the overthrow of the dictatorship,” pertaining to the presidency of Ferdinand Marcos, Sr.

“HORRORS!” is a genre studies course delving into horror, with discussions on its “historical highlights and modern-day trends, key film and filmmakers, as well as social, cultural, political, and philosophical dimensions” of the genre.

An introductory film course, “Martial Law and Pinoy Cinema, Noon at Ngayon” is meanwhile designed to “place emphasis on the interactive discussion between the students, the filmmakers, and the Martial Law survivors.”

“Cinema, Martial Law and Historical Revisionism” is described as a film seminar that maps out “the interfaces of martial law cinema produced in the period.” It will then examine “how political cinema is depoliticized for the historical revisionist project of the present.”